The Resolution
by VAMPIREEElover
Summary: When Bella is in an abusive relationship with the sadistic James, she'll do anything to escape. Can Bella get out alive? AU. all human.
1. Face Down

Chapter song: Facedown

Artist: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Chapter One

BPOV

_Wonder what enchantment today is going today is going to hold for me,_ I thought to myself sarcastically as I pulled my red, rusty, truck into the parking garage of my apartment building. I sighed heavily, not wanting to have to leave the safety of my truck; the dashboard clock read 7:13 PM.

_You can't prolong the inevitable, it'll just get worse the longer you wait here, _my mind gnawed at my hope of five more minutes without James. Begrudgingly I left my truck and started towards my third floor apartment that I hated.

James had been my boyfriend since we had met in the summer of my second year of college. When we'd both graduated, we moved into an apartment in Seattle together. But a few months after moving in, James' behavior began to change.

He started getting less and less sleep and was active very possessive of me. A few weeks later, I had come home from work late and he beat me black and blue because of it. In the following weeks, he started finding other 'justifiable' reasons to continue the beatings; now it was the point of expecting to be hit as my welcome-home-how-was-your-day-hug-and-kiss.

A few of my colleagues slowly started to notice my injuries, but I played them off as self inflicted accidents. It wasn't that hard to believe considering that I had no sense of balance in my body, but my injuries didn't help my balance either. But only one person in the world knew the actual truth about what James would do to me. It was my best friend and boss Angela, she'd witnessed him lash out at me first hand.

She's tried to do the right thing for me and tried to get me to go to the police, but I couldn't for several reasons. One was that my father, Charlie, was the police chief in the nearby small town of Forks, Washington, so he would eventually find out. And if he found out, he'd lecture me about who I dated and my personal safety and probably wouldn't let me out of his sight again.

Reason number two was that if the law intervened, the issue would just increase tenfold. An order of protection or a restraining order wouldn't do anything to stop James; he'd still find me and just continue on his tirade.

And the final reason that I couldn't run from James was that he could lie his way out of things. He was connected with prominent society figures and the police officers in our district. So no matter what, he could get around any obstacle that I tried to throw into his path.

But after Angela witnessed my daily torture a little over a year ago, she'd come up with a plan to hopefully get me away from James for good. Thankfully, my plan to flee was almost complete.

Over the course of the year, with Angela's help, I'd bought a new car. Well, it wasn't _technically _new, but it was new to me. The car was a used 2002 red Honda Civic, and it was a lot different from my truck. I wished that I would be able to take my truck with me, but it was too slow and conspicuous relocate with so James could easily catch me if he followed me. My one stipulation to get a red car was so that I could honor my truck in my memory; a tribute to it.

In the Honda, I packed most of my possessions into it; I'd never had much to begin with because I didn't need a lot. Packed away in my getaway car was my clothing, a few blankets and pillows, my book and music collection, childhood mementos, and my laptop. I had slowly taken things so it wouldn't draw too much attention from James; it was my only hope.

_Maybe today will be the lucky day,_ I though hopefully as I unlocked the apartment door. Earlier that day, I had emptied what was left in my bank account after I had paid for my car. 527.36 was all I had left in my bank accounts and I hid that in the car. I would need it, every cent.

The only part of the plan that I wasn't set with was where she was going to relocate to. It had to be a place that was far away from the monster I called my boyfriend couldn't find me. I wasn't leaving anything for him to trace me by. No cell phone records, bank accounts, no leads. I couldn't tell Angela for her own safety, it wouldn't surprise me if James went to her asking her where I was. He'd torture it out of her if he even though that she knew anything, no matter how badly she'd want to protect me.

As I walked in, in instantly tensed up, bracing myself for what punishment that was waiting was for being late. But something was wrong; it was too quiet. Slowly, made my way down the hall and turned on the light to the living room. I instantly regretted turning on the light.

Just as light illuminated the room, the back of James' hand came down on the right side of my face, knocking me to the floor, my head coming into contact with the corner of an end table.

"Where were you?!" he yelled at me on the floor.

"I'm sorry, Mike held us…" I started to explain to James as I was getting off of the floor. But James wasn't having that. He kicked me in the ribs, knocking the air out of my lungs as I collapsed back onto the floor.

"I asked where you were, Bella," James spat.

I couldn't get any air into my lungs to answer him, causing his fury to build even greater. I could feel the blood running down my face and seeping into my hair and clothing. The smell was making my stomach churn and I was starting to lose consciousness.

I tried to get back up again, but was kicked back down.

"ANSWER ME BELLA!" he screamed, towering over me. I couldn't force the words from my mouth; I was in too much pain. I gasped for air, trying to force it into my lungs but none was entering.

Not hearing a reply, James knelt over me and continued to pummel me. With each new hit I sank further and further into unconsciousness, welcoming the black that was pushing down on me to save me from this monster.

Ok so how was chapter one? I'm sorry if it was a little too graphic, I'm not good at writing fights. Please review! The next chapter should be up soon...within the next few days.


	2. Not What It Seems

Authors note: Thank you guys so so so so so much for all the reviews, I truly appreciate the input from you guys (seriously there are no words for how much they motivate me) But, I thank all of you who have reviewed; this chapter is dedicated to you lovelies. Also, I'm sorry that it's taken me wayyyyy to long to get this up. Seriously, I'm sooo sorry, it's like inexplicable.

A is for Angel & Miss FHorn: thanks for the support :D

Krissyangel15: first off on a random topic, we have the same name/nickname. My family calls me Krissy too (even spell it that way). But thanks for your input…something is kinda going to happen with it like that...kinda.

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Chapter Song: Not What It Seems

Artist: Something Corporate

Chapter Two

BPOV

As I came out of my protective blackness, I could hear the sounds of Seattle pouring in through the open windows. Chancing to open my eyes, I instantly snapped them back shut, not expecting the sun to be out; a rarity in the rainy state of Washington. As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light and became less sensitive, I took stock of the apartment.

It didn't look like anything had been damaged too terribly last night. One of the end tables was turned over, the books and lamp sitting on it were now lying on the floor. The area of the floor that I was beat down to had blood dried to the wood floors; a shocking contrast to the light maple patina of the wood. The last thing that had to be assessed was my own health. I had a lightly pain when I took a breath in, most likely he fractured one of my ribs, again.

Judging by the amount of light coming in through the windows and the lack of sound from the apartment, I decided that I was safe enough from the monster now to start getting ready for work.

Gingerly, I made my way to the bathroom, and instantly regretted looking at my complexion.

My chocolate drown hair was matted to my forehead from the cutting my head on the end table. I had what appeared to be a bruised outline of a hand across the right side of my face. Looking closely, you could see the outline of fingers. My shoulders, arms, chest and the rest of my abdomen were also covered with bruises. But that was nothing clothing couldn't hide.

Glancing at the clock, I realized that if I didn't hurry, I was going to be late to work today. It was already 8:27 and Angela, Mike, and I had a meeting that was starting just about an hour.

I showered quickly, scrubbing as lightly as I could to not further injure myself, but thoroughly remove all traces of blood out of my hair and off of my skin; the running shower water running an unhealthy rusted red color.

Stepping out of the warm shower water, I quickly wrapped myself in a towel to trap in the heat and walked into my closet to dress. I picked out a navy blue ribbed turtle neck and a pair of simple black trouser pants. I didn't bother trying to do my hair; it would dry before I got to work.

Not having time to eat breakfast here, I quickly brushed my teeth and hair. As I was leaving the bathroom, I grabbed my now ruined ivory sweater and threw it into my workbag so I could get rid of it.

After glancing at the clock I only had fifteen minutes to get to work. I hurriedly put on my black wool coat and slipped on my flat black moccasins and locked the apartment for the day.

I coaxed as much speed as possible out of my decrepit truck, maneuvering in an out of Seattle's rush hour; Pulling into the parking garage of the Seattle Publishing House as my dashboard clock read 9:30.

I parked and ran into the building, only stopping long enough to hand my coat in my office and grab the MC file and walked quickly down the hall toward the conference room.

By time I got into the conference room, it was absolute hell to breathe. Sitting down at the table, I made the mistake of taking a deep breath to try and collect myself. I whimpered aloud; my eyes squeezed shut against the pain I was trying to conceal.

I held my head in my hands thinking about how last night had gone, not bothering to acknowledge anyone until I felt a hand on my arm.

"Excuse me, Miss? Are you okay?"

Looking to see who was speaking to me, I met a pair of two brilliant emerald pools sitting in the chair next to me, leaning toward me. He had the most unusual hair, a striking bronze color; it looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. His facial features were angular, yet perfect, as if he had been carved from alabaster which would match his skin tone beautifully.

He was gorgeous. No gorgeous wasn't the right word for him, it didn't fit the way he looked. He was beautiful. _Beautiful. _

_He's beautiful, _my mind whispered at me.

"Miss?" he repeated to me, breaking me out of my abstraction.

"Oh yes, I'm fine thank you." I said, flushing with embarrassment as I was caught examining this beautiful creature before me. Lighter than a moth's wing, he brushed the tips of his fingers along my right check, almost as if caressing it.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes flickering toward my forehead and cheek before looking me in the eye again.

_Oh crap…, _my mind thought. The cut and the hand print.

"Yes," I told him weakly, "I'm fine. It's not what it seems."

He looked at me skeptically; it was almost as if he could see right through me, as if he knew what happened to me every night.

"Then how-"

Just then, Angela and Mike followed by two other men and a small pixie like woman walked into the conference room, cutting him off from what he was going to say. He walked away with troubled eyes to go speak with the blonde that just walked in.

One of the men that had walked in with Mike and Angela, the blonde one, sat at the head of the table. The other one, the brunette, sat on the right of the blonde.

Angela shot me a look of sheer concern, silently asking, 'Are you okay?' as she sat down across the table from me. I gave her a small nod, dismissing the topic, letting her know that I was fine, if at least for the work day.

On the left of me sat the pixie woman and to my right sat the beautiful stranger. Mike sat down at the head of the table, getting ready the paperwork that we would be reviewing.

"Hello, my name is Alice Brandon." came the tinkering voice of the pixie woman. She was very energetic; you could tell by the way she bouncily walked into the room. The she was small, and thin, but had shape to her. Her black hair was cut short, flipping out at the ends. Her eyes were a piercingly clear blue, almost like a sapphire. Alice, the name fit her well.

MC which actually stood for McCarty-Cullen Law Firm was just here to review the progress of the prints that they needed for their upcoming cases. They were here for the week to review the progress of over 500 documents; this was going to be a long week.

Overall, things were running smoothly, no major kinks going on the in the paperwork, just a few small discrepancies. The only thing that wasn't running smoothly was myself. I felt small sparks of electricity igniting the air around me, as if it was originating from somewhere from the Adonis sitting next to me the entire meeting.

By noon I felt emotionally and physically drained. Chancing a quick look, I peeked through my curtain of hair at him. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes told me everything. Looking into them all I could see was pain; pain and frustration. I flushed a deep shade of crimson at having him catch me looking at him again.

"Bella?"

I was so distracted by this angel sitting next to me, whose name was _still_ unknown to me, that I didn't realize Mike had asked me something.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I asked, embarrassed that everyonehad caught that stolen moment.

"Would you mind picking up lunch?" he asked again, a small smile on his lips.

"Yes, is the Corner Bistro okay?" They mostly sold deli sandwiches and grab-and-go items, good for lunches instances like these. Angela passed around the menu, while I took orders.

I didn't bother grabbing my work bag or my file before leaving; we had the conference room pretty much all week, so nobody would take them. I walked into my office, tripping over my coat that I'd so messily and carelessly thrown onto the client chairs and sat down at my desk, turning my back to look out at the city.

_If only I could be _that _free,_ I thought as I looked down at the people below. They had such freedom, such life to them.

_I wonder what I_ _look like to them,_ I though. Broken? Weak? A walking wreck? Sighing, I stood up, pushing away my thoughts before I depressed myself more than I already was.

"Ms. Swan?" I jumped, startled by hearing a voice from behind me. It was that beautiful stranger.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone to be there," I said, blushing again, for embarrassment and just for being caught off-guard by his breath taking beauty.

"No, it's my fault; I should have made my presence known sooner. I'm sorry for startling you." He had a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips, as if enjoying some private joke. "I was just wondering if you'd like some help carrying the bags back?" He asked with such sincerity, his eyes so piercingly hypnotizing, as if begging me to say yes.

I looked away, noticing that I had been holding my breath. I exhaled deeply, shaking my head slightly to straighten my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, but I never caught your name." I asked looking down at my hands, embarrassed.

"Oh, forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Edward, Edward Masen," he said extending his hand to shake mine.

"Bella Swan. And as much as your help is appreciated, I think that I'll be ok. It's right around the corner. But thank you though, Edward."

I started to the go for my coat, but Edward beat me to it. Like a gentleman, he helped me into my coat. His hands brushed my neck, right along the collar of my turtle neck, where a bruise that perfectly outlined James' hand peeked out. Edward's touch left a trail of fire in it's wake, not like the crushing ice feeling James's did.

After helping me into in, I adjusted it; un-tucking my hair from underneath my coat and buttoning it up against the fall chill that was quickly turning into winter's bite.

"That color blue looks lovely with your skin," he said, watching me. I looked down, flushing.

_So chivalry _does _exist,_ I thought as we walked back toward the conference room. I grabbed the lunch order and headed out of my building.

I waited patiently while they made each sandwich, Emmett, the burly brunette, ordered four for _himself._ Looking out the window, my breath caught in my throat.

It looked like James was across the street, turning to corner, but headed away from me.

_It wasn't him,_ my mind told me with 100% surety.

I moved away from the window quickly, not trusting my conscious. I didn't even know if I could trust _myself _anymore. Thankfully, my number was called and I paid, picked up my bags and headed outside, trying to hurry to my building to escape from the cold.

Normally, the bags weren't heavy; I was used to the weight. But after last night, they felt like someone had added an extra twenty pounds to each bag.

Struggling, I made my way into the elevator. Thankfully, nobody was in there so I could set the bags down and rest my arms. My abdomen was aching painfully, the pain in my ribs increasing more than it was earlier this morning. He must not have fractured it but _broken _it.

My health insurance was maxed out as is, how would I pay for another trip to the ER? What could I even say had caused this?

_Tell them the truth; they can help you,_ my mind nagged. Oh, if only, if only.

The elevator dinged and I picked up my bags, trudging toward the conference room. As I rounded the corner, I heard a disgustingly familiar voice, one that wrapped fear's cold fingers around my spine and squeezed, making its presence known.

"Bella!" James called.

I walked faster, hoping that I could get within the safety of the conference room before he could do something to me. Rounding the last corner, I could see into the conference room. Everyone was in there mingling while waiting fro me to deliver their lunch.

_Just a little further_, my mind coaxed me. It seemed like it was a walk through hell, waiting to get to my safe haven. I stepped through the doorway, quickly placing the sandwiches on the table, before looking up. When I did, I wished that I'd never come to work today.

In Edward's hands was my ivory sweater from last night; the bloodstains that had seeped in and stained the fabric on display for the whole room to see. They all had looks of shock across their face except for one, Edward. He looked furious, like he could kill who had hurt me.

"Bella, ANSWER ME!" my monster screamed.

_Great, the cherry on my cake; the monster has stalked me down the hall, _my mind growled.

I turned to see a fuming James, staring at the sweater in Edward's hands for a fraction of a second and then returning to me.

I couldn't breathe and everything around me started to spin. I heard voices cry out to me, but I couldn't see them or hear what they said. All I could to was fall into that secure blanket of blackness that my mind oh so welcomingly provided to soften the impact of the crash.

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DUNH DUNH DUNH! Oh I know a cliffy. Very unfool of me I know. (if you've read _The Last Days,_ you'll get what unfool means.) But everything works out. And i absolutely HAD HAD HAD to put in that qoute from twilight. It's one of my most favorite parts in the whole series right there so i had to; kill me if you must! Chapter 3 is halfway finished and should be up by Sunday at the latest. (Scouts honor it will be.) Anyway, you know the drill. Please review, that helps speed up my writing process like you wouldn't believe.


	3. Secret Life

Author's Note: A is for Angel, RUTryingToIrritateMeToDeath, ..xXx, and Ronsart, thanks for your reviews, I had the crappiest week and you just brightened it oh so much. Along with all you gorgeous people who also read it. Seriously, when I saw all the hits, I just about like died from surprise. I love you guys, for shiz. And this chapter song (if you know it or are a person who actually looks them up) is explained at the end. (don't go ahead and read it otherwise you're going to ruin the chapter for yourself.)

Also, I apologize for not posting this on Friday. I slept over at my friend's house because on Saturday, we went and met Michael Phelps. It was so cool! Without, further ado!

Chapter Song: Secret Life

Artist: Thriving Ivory

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Chapter Three

BPOV

It felt like I was being asphyxiated, drowning in my own mind. I couldn't see or feel anything around me, just black. And in the worst sense, this numbing blackness was my saving grace. It was just me, myself and I, no third party.

But at the same time, I wasn't alone. I could feel that cold, crushing grip wrapping itself around every vertebrae in my spine; that choking painful presence.

And with every cranking high accompanies that bottom out, painful crash. The blackness, no longer welcoming, was closing in on me, pushing me back to my reality. If felt like I couldn't breathe, like an elephant was sitting on my chest.

Regaining consciousness, I felt hands on me; touching me.

There were hands on me.

I pushed away the hands, tearing open up my eyes trying to sit up and get away from them.

Standing up, the room started to spin. I could see blurred outlines of people; it looked like Angela, Mike, and that other woman. _What was her name,_ the polite side of my mind asked, while the escaping side growled, _it doesn't matter._ I looked toward the door, begging silently that I could escape.

Blocking my escape was James, as always. He was struggling against the big burly man who was dragging him out of the room, security moving toward the pair.

Silently, I slid back down the floor, not caring about escaping anymore. I tucked my knees into my chest, hugging them tightly to my small frame and stared straight at my feet. There was nothing I could do anymore. My life was quite literally over.

I never would have fathomed this happening; him publicly coming after me. There was no way to lie about him anymore.

Without a doubt in my mind, I knew that everyone in that room, knowing me for a few years or a few hours had put two and two together to create this terrifying reality of four.

The scars, casts, bruises, marks, hospitals visits, they'd all been craftily tucked away. Just written off as Bella 'falling down again.' But now? Now they all came down under the interrogation light. "How hard did he have to hit her to give her _that?_" would now be the topic of question at the water cooler discussions.

Breaking me out of my reverie, I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I shrunk closer into myself hoping that if I curled myself into a small enough ball, that I would disappear, escaping the touch. Feeling the hand touch my shoulder again, I shuddered. But this time a voice accompanied it.

"Ms. Swan?" It was a hushed tone, barely audible. Quiet as it was, I could hear him fine. Looking up, I met the slate gray eyes of Carlisle. His face was composed; carefully blank. Yet somehow, his expression looked forced. His eyes somber, like he was reflecting on dark times.

"Ms. Sawn, can you move?" I didn't respond. I shut down further into myself, hoping that hole I could disappear in would still appear.

He sighed. Shifting out of the crouch he reached out and gently detangled me from myself. Cradling me, almost like he was trying to _protect_ me, he carried me out of the room. I didn't know where he was taking me but I didn't really care either. Anywhere away from James was a safe haven.

The rocking motion of his arms was calming, like the ocean's waves. But contradictorily, his heart beat and breathing were racing, like he'd just run a marathon. Carefully, he set me down on a sofa, studying me.

Looking around, I noticed the soft caramel color of the walls, the two leather chairs in front of a mahogany desk. It looked so welcoming, so peaceful, and so _warm_; Carlisle had taken me to my office. Although it was so familiar, it seemed so alien to me.

Glancing away from me momentarily, he looked through the windows behind the sofa nodding to somebody. Alice walked into the room and started closing the chocolate brown curtains. Getting a fleeting look outside, it was no longer sunny. Back to the usual dreary Seattle downpour. Both giving me sympathetic looks; Carlisle and Alice exited the room.

I rolling over to I was facing the back of the sofa, I curled back into a small ball. Silent tears started running down my face. I clamped down hard on my lower lip to not let any sobs escape, but it didn't work.

The sobs started coming fast, hard, and uncontrollable.

"Why me?!" I whispered aloud to myself. What had I ever done to deserve this? Nothing… absolutely nothing.

Going back into the conference room wasn't an option. I couldn't act like nothing happened, it would be near impossible. Another impossibility would be returning to see James, he'd beat me dead.

Where could I go then? I couldn't stay here. I had no money to afford a hotel room. Charlie's house would be too far to drive to. Besides, I couldn't drop in unannounced looking like I did. Going home with Angela? There would be no way that I was going to put her in more danger than she was already in by just being friends with me.

My mind was going in endless circles, unanswerable questions constantly surfacing, asking for answers that I didn't have. Slowly, my body started to shut down, drifting towards sleep.

* * *

I felt absolutely hideous as I woke up. I was still curled into the same ball position that I fell asleep in, still facing back toward the brown leather back of the sofa. As my brain started to register things, I heard people behind me in the dark room. It was Carlisle and Edward; they were whispering a heated argument.

"Carlisle, we can't just let her go home. We have to do something!" Edward argued. His voice so much emotion to it. He sounded like he was actually meaning what he was saying.

"I know, Edward, I know. I don't like it as much as you do. She reminds me so much of Esme…when I first met her." Carlisle said. He sounded so broken, so _remorseful_. Nothing like the carefree business man I'd seen a few hours ago.

"Do we have enough for an order of protection?"

"I don't know, I'd have to look into it. Who knows how long that would take." Carlisle sounded sad at having to say it.

Edward sighed; he sounded frustrated. _Why does he care?_ My mind though idly.

"And if he doesn't have a record?" Edward asked.

"Then there's nothing we can do." was Carlisle's solemn response.

"_What?!_" Edward velvet voice rang out. "What do you mean there's nothing we can do, Carlisle?! We saw him physically try to go after her!"

"No, Edward. We don't have any proof that he was trying to physically hurt her there. For all we know, he just wanted to talk with her."

"We have witnesses! They would agree that he _is_ a danger to her! They saw the look on his face! Hell, she even fainted when he looked at her!"

"How could we argue it wasn't a medical issue that made her faint? We don't know her. I'm sorry, Edward. There's nothing we could do unless we saw him actually lay a hand on her. I'm sorry." he apologized. "It hurts me just as much as it hurts you. It makes me think of what Esme went through. When I saw her for the first time when I was interning in the ER, all I could think about was hurting whoever had done that to her. That's why I stopped pursuing being a doctor and became a lawyer. To help lock up the monsters of this world, those who actually deserve it."

Edward was quiet for a moment, he sighed. "Have you talked to Esme?" his velvet voice asked, defeated.

"Yes," he paused. There was a knock at the door.

"Carlisle?" came a tinkering voice. It sounded like the pixie woman. _What was her name? _my mind asked again.

"Yes, Alice?" Alice. That was her name.

"Esme is on the phone." She answered.

"I'll be there in a moment, thank you." He said, being politely dismissive. She left, closing the door quietly.

"Can you watch her?" Carlisle asked.

I didn't hear a reply, just someone's retreating footsteps and the door's quiet _clicking _noise close.

In the midst of trying to process what had just happened, I realized that I hadn't taken a breath. I quickly exhaled and instantly regretted it. The pain in my ribs had increased. I whimpered slightly at the pain. It looked like I'd definitely need to go to the emergency room.

"Bella?" a velvet voice asked; it was Edward. I carefully rolled onto my back and sat up, using that arm of the sofa as a back rest. Sitting up made the pain go up tenfold.

"Hi." I said in a strained voice.

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Author's Note: Ok, this was a suck ass chapter I'm not gonna lie. Sorry about this, but I felt like I was dragging it out so i ended it there. So yeah, sorry.

chapter song explanation: The song is pretty much saying how her life was that nobody really knew about. And then with James's outburst, how it's here 'secret life' and how the others want to help her. Especially that's what's running through Edward's mind when he first met her in the previous chapter. Also, it's how others who didn't really pick up on her abuse thought she hid it well with the line 'you dance just like a queen, in spite of all the things you never wanted' So, cool? Good. If you still have any questions about this chapter or anything you don't get at all, with your (hopefully) review, you can ask me or just PM me and I'll answer it as best I can. Thanks for your time lovely! Review? Until next time.


	4. Orphans

Author's Note: Thanks so much to lucyck, stargazing angel 07, RUTryingToIrritateMeToDeath, A is for Angel, kaosgurl00, Niki, and Ronsart for reviewing. Ronsart, I was absolutely astounded by your review. Seriously to hear that, (by the way I'm sorry for that) but your review absolutely brightened my day. I don't think that there was a happier fourteen years old in the world. Also, I'm apologizing for it taking so long for this chapter to get up, I'm sure I've pissed you guys off for taking so long. I was halfway done when my computer crashed and it's been in the shop getting fixed. So updates should be way faster once I get it back. Once again sorry!

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Chapter song: Orphans

Artist: Jack's Mannequin

Chapter Four

I grimaced in pain, sitting up hurt worse than being curled in a ball. It also made breathing a more laborious task. Edward was sitting in one of the two clientele chairs placed in front of my desk. Instead of facing it like they normally were, they had been turned toward the couch and had been slid slightly closer to me.

"How long was I out for?" I asked Edward sounding slightly hoarse, twisting and untwisting my fingers in my lap. I looked up silently, waiting for my answer.

He was leaning forward in his chair, his elbows on top of his kneecaps, his hands clasped with intertwined fingers in front of him. He looked at me, his green orbs burning into mine questioningly but at the same time he looked heartbreakingly pained. The moment our eyes met, I felt a twitter in the bottom of my stomach, and a blush rise in my cheeks. Sighing he broke eye contact and looked at his watch that adorned his right wrist.

"It's 9:43, almost seven hours."

"Great…" I moaned. Not going home tonight wasn't an option, even if I needed to go to the emergency room. It would be pointless to seek treatment when it would go to hell within 3 minutes of me walking through the door. I pushed the blanket off my legs, and stood up.

The room started spinning, my head felt detached from my shoulders. I felt my body start to sway, gravity pulling me down as the head rush consumed me. Bracing for my meeting with the commercial carpeting covering my office floor, I closed my eyes and let gravity take me. I opened my eyes cautiously.

I hadn't made contact with the floor. Instead, around my lower back was Edward's left arm, his right hand holding my left. If anyone had seen this, they might have thought he was dipping me back while dancing.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding slightly anxious. Quickly, his eyes searched me for any sign of injury. He was still holding me, not letting me go.

"Yeah, just a little head rush…," I said weakly, trying to laugh it off while adding under my breath "I think." Edward didn't seem so convinced.

"Bella," he said, "I think you should go to the emergency room. You need to see a doctor." He helped me back to a sitting position on the couch, looking at me warily with concern. His heart was in the right place but with the wrong person.

"I'm fine. I just need to go home." I tried to sound confident when I said it, but it came out sounding incredibly weak.

"Please Bella, for your own good, please, go to the emergency room." He pleaded. What was with his concern for me? First asking me this morning about my injuries, then the talk with Carlisle, and now this? He didn't know me, nor would he even _want_ to get to know me.

"Why do you care?" I uttered quietly. I could feel the tears start to prick hotly at the back of my eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "Just don't okay, Edward?" I didn't want to hear the words he was going to say, I didn't need the sympathy.

I stood, ignoring the head rush that had once again consumed me and grabbed my coat and purse. I contemplated grabbing my work bag but decided it would be there waiting for me in the morning, leaving it sitting in the conference room. The only thing of true value in it was my sweater but that evidence was found before I could destroy it. I started walking to the elevator, hoping that I would wake up to find that this had all just been some horrible dream. But it was reality and I knew that as soon as I felt a hand grab mine and lightly pull on it to get me to stop. I was in front of the elevators and the tears were flowing freely down my face. I kept my eyes down, staring at my shoes

"Please, don't go home." He asked, his tone even softer than before.

"Just leave me alone, Edward." I said quietly. The elevator _binged _announcing the arrival of the elevator car. Thankfully, it was empty and I stepped inside. Finally I looked up to meet his gaze. His face was entirely begging now, as if he could cry. The doors started to close and he just stood there, staring at me pleadingly.

Just as the door closed, he turned and walked away. The tears continued to flow from my eyes like an endless river. I wiped at my eyes, and took a few deep breaths trying to cease my breakdown. The doors opened as I started to walk toward my truck. I stopped outside it to big my keys out of my purse.

I normally got them out in the elevator, to avoid the uneasy feeling that was settling over me while waiting in a poorly lit parking garage at night, as if asking to me attacked. Looking at the cars around mine, I didn't notice any different cars except for one. It was a black Mercedes. Not being able to find my keys in my purse, I looked in my coat pockets.

Sitting safely in my left hand pocket were my keys. But there was something else in there too.

Reaching into my pocket again, I pulled out piece of paper. It was a thick sheet of plain ivory paper. Scrawled across the page in an elegant script was a message:

_Be safe. _

It was followed with a phone number, one unfamiliar to me. But I didn't have to even think about it to know who it was from. Edward.

Silently, I took out my cell phone and programmed the number in the number into it and drove off into the night.

* * *

Ok, it's 11:58 PM. Short chapter yes I know, but I'm posting another this week I promise. By the way, how did you guys like the movie? I don't know about you guys but I thought they did an amazing job and I can't wait for new moon to come out (yes they are officially making it!) well please review. Thanks for your time you beautiful people.


	5. I Want To Save You

ok so yeah, i finally had the time to type this chapter for you. tahnks to my reviews and for understand!

Chapter Song: I Want To Save You

Artist: Something Corporate

* * *

I woke up to find the brightness of a snowy day pouring through the windows. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up disoriented. I was in my bed…undisturbed…. Listening carefully for any sign of life outside the door of the bedroom, I didn't move.

Not hearing any sound, I quickly and quietly jumped out of bed and pressed my ear against the door, kneeling on the cold floor; nothing. James hadn't come home all night. An overwhelming sense of joy and relief washed over me as I opened the door and walked into my living room without being harmed. I wandered into the kitchen, opening cabinets to hopefully find coffee. Typical of me, I had no such luck as to finding some.

I sighed. Could anything ever work in my life? Pushing the negative thoughts that started flooding my mind away, I left the kitchen and headed into the bedroom again. Changing out my pajamas I opted for apparel that was equally as comfortable. I ended up in my favorite black sweatpants, a white tank top, and a black zipper front hoodie. I quickly scrubbed my teeth and worked my hair back into a ponytail; a few wisps of hair framed my face. I was slightly taken back.

For once, I looked slightly healthy. My pale skin didn't look so ghostly with the contrast of sickly white color and bruised face; the bruises were fading and my skin had the tiniest hint of healthy color. I looked away, disbelieving. _It was only the lighting, _my mind heckled me. I headed into the living room, taking my time as I put on my old, beat up black chucks coat and grab my small purse. I locked the door of the apartment as I left and traveled out of the apartment building, walking up the street.

I hurried down the sidewalk, trying to avoid getting falling in the slippery snow that was starting to blanket the city. After two blocks, I turned the corner and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the coffee shop in sight. Checking the street before I crossed, I carefully trudged across, managing to not slip in the slush. I opened the door the Crazy Bean Café, welcoming the warmth and delicious smell that enveloped me.

The Crazy Bean Café had an odd name but they definitely blew Starbucks out of the water, in its hometown home town no less. Walking up to the counter I realized didn't have an inkling of what I wanted. I'd drank almost every beverage on the menu at least once and liked most of them. Deciding on a plain vanilla cappuccino, I was just about to order when I felt a vibration in my pocket; it was my cell phone.

Taking it out of my pocket, I looked at the screen seeing that I had a new text message that read:

_Hey Bella! We're not coming in today; they have the building shut down due to a heating problem. Have fun on your day off! –Angela_

I wasn't surprised by the news. I had figured as much when I saw the snow. The building was freezing without the working heat and the snow wouldn't be making a toasty, warm working environment anytime soon. I closed the message and glanced at the date: Friday, December 7th, 8:27 AM. _Wonder_ful. I had an entire Friday with nothing to do. Maybe I could get a little Christmas shopping completed?

"Ma'am are you ready to order?" the barista worker asked. I jumped at the sound of the voice, forgetting that I was in the coffee shop. Unable to remember what I wanted, I ordered the first thing that I saw.

"I'll take a large peppermint twist." I said, embarrassed and blushing at my stupidity. I waited for my coffee and change before weaving the maze of tables, chairs, and couches to my favorite spot. It was a big reading chair near the back of the café, but next to the windows, providing a great view onto the busy street. It was comfortable but it looked like it was straight out of an Austin Powers movie, patterned with swirls in a multicolored fabric of reds, yellows, blues, and the colors in-between.

I took off my bad and jacket, setting them on the floor near my chair. I grabbed my current read out of my bag, The Other Boleyn Girl, and curled into the chair. The further that I progressed into the book, the more that I realized how much I felt like Mary Boleyn. Watching the slow unfurling of Henry the Eighth's madness on England was a lot like James' madness that he unleashed on my. But for some reason this thought was cleansing.

Mary Boleyn escaped Henry's madness, and at the moment, I was free of James'. He was gone for who knows how long. My ribs weren't hurting as much as they had been; a dull ache replaced the extreme pain. And to top it all off, I had a day off of work, leaving me an extended weekend. I was definitely escaped from the tyranny if only temporarily. A small smile lifted my cheeks as I relished the thought before returning back to my book.

"Hello, Bella."

Startling me, causing the drop of both my coffee and book, I looked up to find an all too familiar figure. It was Edward. He sat down in the chair next to me, holding a cup out toward me.

"I believe you dropped this?" he asked, trying to suppress laughter. I looked at the ground to hide my awe before taking the cup; he had caught my cup.

"Oh…uhm, thanks." I said as I set it on the end table next to my chair. I kept my eyes on the cup as I set it down, feeling a blush spread through my cheeks at my clumsiness.

When I looked up, I was in utter shock of how beautiful Edward looked. He was dressed in a light gray button up shirt and a pair of jeans that were so deep a blue they almost looked black. The sleeves were rolled twice around at the cuffs and pushed up near his elbows; the first two buttons on the top of his shirt were undone partially revealing a black ribbed undershirt. The dark jeans he was wearing appreciatively hugged his hips and long legs. He was staring out the window, his forehead slightly wrinkled as if concentrating. His hair was deliciously disheveled, with wet strands of hair sticking together from the melted snowflakes. Edward looked stunning. He cleared his throat and turned back toward me, just as I realized that I was staring.

"What are you reading?" he asked casually, picking my books off the floor.

"The Other Boleyn Girl."

"It's a good book…but don't you find it rather depressing?" He asked, examining the cover art.

"No." I said quietly. The word hung in the air, punctuating the silence. I watch him as his fingers traced over the cover, engrossed in the activity.

"Why?" he asked suddenly breaking the silence. Leaning forward, his eyes locked onto mine, intently searching them for my answer. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't break his gaze.

"I, uhm…I," I fumbled dumbly, searching for the right words, "I think it's more of a story of ambition." I started. "It shows how no matter who's control your under, whether it be a king's, a family member's, a lover's or a complete stranger's, you still have the ability to take your fate into your own hands….To justify a life you want to live according to your own means." I finished passionately.

I didn't realize that as I had been explaining myself, he has moved in close to me, almost close enough to be called intimate, but not quite.

"And do you?" he whispered, leaning in even closer, his eyes unrelenting. From the corner of my eye, I saw his hand start toward my face. I cringed away from him, putting my hand up to block the impending hit.

"Bella?" he gently tried to pull my hand away from my face but I recoiled as if burned, curling into the protection of myself.

"Please, no. I'm sorry, I won't do it again." I whispered over and over again, still waiting to be punished.

"Bella…? Bella? What are you talking about?" he asked quietly confused. His voice sounded like it was close to my head, closer than before…close enough to kiss.

"Don't hurt me, I won't do it again, I didn't mean to." I pleaded in whispers, tears welling in my eyes. I felt the lightest ruffle in my hair, then the gentle pull of someone raising up my face. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, my body trembling.

"Bella, I'm not going to hurt you," he said. His voice was so soft, so sincere; he sounded like and archangel.

"Look at me," he pleaded. Opening them, my gaze instantly shifted to the floor.

"At me, Bella; look me in the eyes please."

Slowly, I dragged my gaze off of the floor to meet his eyes. He held my gaze, making sure that I wouldn't break my eye contact.

"I'm not him; I won't hurt you."

When he said this, he looked like a burning man. As if my own pain was his pain. He knew…of course he knew. How could he completely forget the previous events from the day before? But no, he couldn't believe them, no. I had to keep denying the truth he was surfacing. Bad things would happen if I didn't deny them.

"You don't know anything." I fired back fiercely, blinking back the tears what were threatening to overflow.

"I know what's happening to you, Bella. He's hurting you." He said quietly. No, no, no, no, no. I shook my head profusely, trying to make him believe; I was failing miserably.

"I…I…I have to go." I said abruptly. In one motion I grabbed my bag and coat and headed toward the exit.

"Bella wait!" I hear him cry as I pushed open the doors. The streets had become populated while I was in the shop, a curse and a blessing. It would be easier to lose Edward but it would be harder to move quickly. Not looking or waiting to see if it was it was safe to cross, I ran into the street.

A taxi flew by me, missing me by inches, his horn blaring his obscenities at me. My shoes were becoming soaked as I made it across the first intersection. I moved as fast as I could, losing my footing often. Behind me I could hear still hear Edward calling out to me; he was following me. I willed myself to move faster, for people to move out of the way. But any wish I could ever make would never come true. I could see the next intersection coming up, the pedestrians had finished crossing.

"Bella!" Edward was getting closer to me, I could hear his footsteps behind me. Trying my fate again, I kept running, running straight out into the intersection. Again, taxi's and cars blared their horns, people yelled at me that I was crazy. I was almost across the street when my shoe caught a crack in the crosswalk.

I tumbled forward, my meeting with the hard concrete of the curb coming at me too fast. My ribcage caught the edge of the curb, producing a sickening cracking noise as pain flashed ripped through my body. The tears we flowing freely by now, but I couldn't stop, I couldn't cry out with pain. Picking myself off the street, I kept running, ignoring the horrendous pain, toward my apartment.

I could still hear the pounding footsteps of Edward behind me, they were even louder, he was too close. I could see the door at the top of my buildings steps opening, with my neighbor Zafrina exiting the building. She was hurrying down the steps as I was sprinting up them. I just caught the door before it closed and hurried up the stairs.

I was done with the second flight and starting the third when I heard the pounding steps on the stairs.

"Bella stop! Please!" I heard him plead.

But I didn't. I kept on running, until I reached the door of my apartment. I turned the knob but it wouldn't open; I had locked it. _Why today? _I thought as I dug out of keys. I had just put them in the lock when I saw Edward. He had just reached the top of the stairs.

Quickly, I turned the lock ant knob at the same time and ripped my keys out of the door. Just as I got had shut the door, I heard a banging noise, like someone had pounded on the door. I leaned against the wall, my tears, sobs, and screams of pain freely flowing.

It felt good to let it all out, the years of built up frustration, confusion, and anguish.

"Bella, please, _please, _let me in. You need to go to a hospital, you're hurt. I saw you fall, I heard you scream,I saw you grab your ribs. Please, let me take you to a hospital, a clinic, somewhere you can get medical attention." He pleaded through the door at me.

"No," I croaked back.

"Damn it, Bella! If you won't then I'm calling an ambulance!" He threatened me.

"No, no, no, no, no, no."

"Please Bella," he said, his tone tainted with pain, "please, let me help you…I want to save you. Just let me save you."

I couldn't speak, I just kept on sobbing, my face shoved onto the light maple floors of my crappy apartment. Quietly, I heard the knob turn and the door open. Edward came in and laid down next to me.

"Just let me save you, that's all I ask." He said quietly.

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Reviews?! i love you darlings!


	6. Broken Like an Angel

yay new chapter! thanks to the following people for reviewing: i heart michael phelps, ..xXx, pushypixieAlice, sophie (), A is for Angel, Edward-Cullen-1, XhowtosavealifeX, riskyshapes. And i'd like to give special thanks to Devonna Ransom for giving me an awesome review (it made my day when i read that). without further ado! :D

_previously in chapter five:_

"_Please Bella," he said, his tone tainted with pain, "please, let me help you…I want to save you. Just let me save you."_

_I couldn't speak, I just kept on sobbing, my face shoved onto the light maple floors of my crappy apartment. Quietly, I heard the knob turn and the door open. Edward came in and laid down next to me._

_"Just let me save you, that's all I ask." He said quietly._

* * *

Song: Broken Like an Angel

Artist: Crossfade

Chapter Six

"Shhh…everything is going to be okay, Bella…it's ok…," Edward soothed me again as I choked out another quiet sob. With each sob came a stab of pain from my midsection. The tears were slowly starting to subside into its after effects of hiccoughs, straggler tears, and random sobs. Lightly, I felt his hand brush the hair that was covering my face back behind my shoulder. I shivered at his touch, instinctively cringing away from it, digging my face back into the floor. "I'm sorry, Bella, you don't deserve this...it's all going to be ok, I promise…"

"N-n-n-no, y-you have to g-go, p-p-please." I begged, my voice still thick and unsteady from the tears. He had to leave; he had to get out of here before something happened to him.

"No."

"Please, for y-y-your own g-g-good. He-he's unprepre-d-dictable, he c-could show up any m-minute. P-please, j-j-just go." I plead, gasping in pain as I pulled myself into a sitting position.

"No, I refuse to leave with you still here," he rebutted, "If I'm in such danger of being found here, then how much worse would it be for you? How much pain would he make you go through for me being here with you?" he said, his green eyes blazing with my painful reality.

"That d-doesn't matter! H-he'd h-hurt y-y-you out of spite of m-me; I'm n-n-not w-worth it."

Edward looked shocked, like I had stuck him across the face, but his eyes were the worst. His emerald eyes darkened, pain flickering for a fleeting second quickly being eclipsed by disbelief. I turned my face back down toward the floor and closed my eyes; I couldn't stand to have him tell me what I was saying was wrong.

"Bella, look at me." I shook my head no.

"Bella, please look at me." Again, I shook my head no. I heard him let out a sigh of quiet frustration and then the shuffling noises of movement. I could hear him breathing nearby, a quiet and smooth rhythm.

"Open your eyes, please." He asked once more, his voice barely above a whisper; I still shook my head no. Once again, he sighed. But then I felt him gently take my hands into his own, rubbing small circles onto the tops of them. At this I finally lifted my head but I still didn't open my eyes. From under closed lids, tears were still escaping from my eyes. I felt him release my hands, placing them in my lap. I heard him shift again, feeling his legs against my knee caps, his hands on my face softly cupping my cheeks.

"Bella," he started softly, "you are worth it. I don't believe in this misconceived idea that you deserve this because you _do not_ deserve it. He may tell you that you deserve every bad thing that happens to you or every hit he gives you, but it's a lie. He tells you this because he's satisfied to own you. He doesn't see that you could be his everything. You bring such joy to people, how can you think that you deserve this? How could you think that this is what you were made for? I barely know you, but I know that you were destined for far, far greater than this."

Listening to his words, the memories of past five years of my unpleasant life with James were relived on fast-forward before my eyes. Every insult I had agreed with, every fight I had lost, every injury I had ever sustained, everything that I had taken without question from James. Every lost chance to escape and hope that had been crushed. Everything that I hadn't deserved. Finally, I consented to his request and opened my eyes. I felt his thumbs wiping tears off of my cheeks.

"Thank you." I whispered, at I met his gaze; his face was a mask of sadness. I held his gaze, leaning into his touch. I closed my eyes again and let down all my guards and false pretenses, showing who I really was. For once instead of letting my feelings go, I let myself feel what I wanted to: warmth, care, a sense of belonging. For once, I let myself believe that I wasn't lost inside a nightmare, but lost inside a dream.

When the tears had fully subsided, I opened my eyes to find Edward with a small smile on his lips. Shyly, I smiled back.

"Thank you." I said, placing my hands over his.

"Anytime." He said, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement. He removed his hands from my face and stood up, outstretching his hand to assist me up. I accepted his gesture, thanking him again. Getting up was painless, but as soon as I stood up fully, pain ripped through my abdomen. I whimpered in pain, grabbing the right side of my rib cage.

"On a scale of one to ten?"

"A seven. I've hand broken ribs before but nothing that hurt this bad." I said breathlessly.

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital." he said, reaching down to grab my messenger bag and keys. I shook my head.

"I can't go, Edward. I can't pay for it." I said quietly; a blush spreading into my cheeks as I uttered this agonizing confession.

"Yes, you can go and you are going." He said grabbing my hand and walking me out into the hallway toward the stairs.

"Please, stop."

"No." He replied.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No. You're going to the hospital, whether you like it or not." He said trying to finalize the matter as he continued to lead me toward the stairs.

"Edward, please stop." I said, anger starting to creep into my tone as he kept denying me.

"No. You have to get to a hospital. This isn't something to fool around with." He insisted.

"Fine!" I said angrily. "But will you stop acting like a five year old long enough to lock the god damn door?!"

He turned around surprised by my sudden outburst of anger, but looked just as exasperated as I felt.

"Fine." He said begrudgingly and walked toward the door muttering under his breath something about 'useless crap'. "Which key?"

"The one with the 37D carved into it." I said over my shoulder as I started down the stairs, not waiting for him. Fuming from my irritation at him, I made it all the way down the stairs before pausing at the door. I stared out the glass, groaning at what I saw. In the course of four short hours, it had turned from a normal snow to white out conditions.

"There's no way in hell my truck is going to start let alone move in this." I said tiredly. Every force in the world was constantly conspiring against me.

"How far is the nearest hospital?" he asked staring out the door.

"Twelve blocks north of here."

"Ready?" he asked me, trying to attempt a cheerful smile as he pulled up the collar of his gray coat.

* * *

By the time I had gotten into a room the emergency room, it was past two. It had taken us almost an hour to navigate through the snowy streets and sidewalks to enter the emergency waiting room. The waiting room was packed full of people, every single available seat filled. There were at least fifteen other people standing around the room with various injuries waiting to be seen. After checking in, Edward held my hand and led me over to a quieter corner of the busy room.

"How are you holding up?" He asked quietly, his hand still holding mine.

"Cold, but other than that not too bad; I'm becoming accustom to the pain." I replied honestly. He frowned at this, but didn't say anything. We were both silent until my name was bellowed out forty-five minutes later by one of the nurses.

"Go in with her, I'll wait for you out here." he said, gently releasing my hand. As I heard this, I tensed in fear. If I went in there alone, they would ask questions. I couldn't go in there alone. Noticing my reaction, Edward's brow wrinkled in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Edward, I can't go in there alone," I started, being cut off by the nurse calling out my name again, "they're going to ask questions…questions that I can't answer." He acknowledged what I was referring to, his eyes darkening at the fact. Not saying a word, he placed his hand on my lower back and walked toward the nurse showing us into a room.

By now, my mind was racing a mile a minute trying to figure out what I was going to tell the hospital staff. Yes, I could tell them the truth that I had fallen on the while crossing the street, but what about the myriad of bruises that covered almost every inch of my body from the shoulders down? What would I tell them about those? They would know instantly what was happening to me by the various discolorations that what I had said was a lie. Feeling someone touch my head, I pulled myself out of my thoughts and back to the present. As I looked up, I saw the privacy curtain of my room flick closed by the nurse who led us back to the room. In my hands, there was a pale sea foam green hospital robe.

"You didn't hear a word she said, did you?" he asked, looking down at me with a sympathetic smile. I was honest and shook my head no, feeling a slight warming in my cheeks.

"I'm going to step out for a moment," he said looking at the robe in my hands. "She said someone will be by in a few minutes with some juice and something to ease the pain. She also mentioned something about x-rays and a doctor being by as soon as possible."

A knock sounded outside the door, followed by the partial opening of the privacy curtain to reveal a young redheaded nurse.

"Hello, I have some things here for you, dear." The nurse said, handing me a pile consisting of two warm blankets, an unopened container of apple juice, and a small cup holding two white pills. She turned to leave, reaching the curtains before turning around again. "Oh, the other nurse forgot to tell you this, but you're to put the gown on with the ties facing forward." As she said this, I could feel the color drain from my face. She smiled and exited; telling us she'd be back once I was changed.

I sat stock still, trying to absorb what she was telling me. I was to put on the hospital gown…with the ties forward…with Edward, whom I have know for barely twenty-four hours, here. Could just _one _thing in my life work with me? Edward cleared his throat, saying he'd be back in a few minutes and left the room, leaving me all alone.

I sat there for a few moments, collecting myself enough to move. I first took the pills, individually dry swallowing them. Then, I slowly undressed myself, placing my coat on the back of the chair in the room; I folded my clothes, tucking them into my messenger bag and put on the ugly, green gown. It swallowed my small frame, being entirely too large for me. Wrapping the strings around my body first, I tied them together. The extra fabric partially worked to my advantage, covering the bruises on my upper arms down and lower torso. The only problem with it was that from how I had wrapped it, a deep v neck had appeared, exposing a pattern of varying discoloration from my neck down to the middle of my sternum.

_Oh god, what if someone sees them? They'll start asking questions and I'll have to answer them...oh god….Oh god, what am I going to do?_

"Bella?" I heard Edward ask from behind me. Startled, I turned around, realizing too late that I had made a fatal error. Every bruise that I was just so worried about was now on display for him to see. I quickly pulled the top closed with my hands, his gaze moving away just as fast. A silence blanketed us, neither of us knowing what to say.

Moving over to the bed, I laid down, covering myself entirely from my toes to my chin, and rolled onto my left side, facing away from Edward. While I was covering myself, he sat down in the chair beside the bed, removing his coat placing andit over mine. The silence between us was deafening, and the tension was unbearable. The young nurse re-entered the room to attach me to a heart rate and blood pressure monitor. She didn't say anything, but I could see her assessing Edward over my shoulder. Clearly satisfied by what she saw when she looked at me, she looked down at me with a belittling smirk and left the room.

I felt the pressure on the bed shift, and heard him quietly breathing behind me. Ever so gently, he started to run his fingers through my hair.

"What are you going to tell them?" he asked me in a subdued tone.

"I fell down a flight of stairs…I think that could explain the bruising well enough…" I trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. I heard him softly say "okay" and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers in my hair. Ever so faintly, I could hear him humming under his breath. We stayed like that until we were interrupted by my doctor. I explained to him my story of 'falling down the stairs' as he looked over my charts and previous patient history.

"Would you mind if I take a look?" he asked. I took a deep breath glancing as Edward moved off the bed before slowly nodding my head and closing my eyes. I felt Edward grab my hand, lightly squeezing it. I squeezed back, as I felt the doctor open the front of the gown. I felt the color drain from my face as he lightly probed at different areas, asking if it hurt there. Only when the doctor had replaced my gown and blankets did I open my eyes again.

He scrawled some notes onto my chart as I looked up toward Edward. Like a perfect gentleman, he had turned his head the other way while I had been…exposed. I squeezed his hand again to let him know that the doctor was finished. He turned his head back, his cheeks slightly pink, and gave me a shy and embarrassed smile. I withdrew my hand from his and turned back over on my side, and he returned to his previous spot, again running his fingers through my hair.

To break the silence that had descended upon us once the doctor had left, he started to ask me random, arrant, questions about myself. I answered them, sometimes asking questions back. The flow of questions continued until I had to leave to take x-rays. Once again, Edward looked away as they opened the front of my gown. He did the thing same when they came to tape my ribs. I was progressively getting more and more tired as the day wore on, but I stifled back the sleepiness that kept threatening to over take me.

According to my x-rays, I had broken two of the ribs on my right side and fractured a third. Which ones I had done when I had fallen earlier and which ones I had sustained from James I would didn't know. They explained to me everything that I already knew: how I should take things easy, not lifting any heavy objects or do anything of high intensity, et cetera. They gave me a prescription for some pain medication and a reminder to see the doctor at his office in two weeks to see how the bones were healing.

When they told me that I could change back into my clothes, I left the room this time and changed in the bathroom down the hall. As I returned to the room, a woman with a laptop on a rolling cart was exiting the room and moving into the room next door. I shot Edward a questioning look, but he just shook his head at me. Yawning, I looked at the clock and saw that it read 9:17.

"I'm sorry." I said apologetically.

"For what?"

"For ruining your day."

"Why would you have ruined my day?" he asked, utterly confused.

"Because I'm…never mind." I said quietly dismissing the subject. I went to grab my coat, but he beat me to it.

"Because you're what?" he asked, holding my coat so I couldn't avoid the subject.

"Because I'm pathetic." I mumbled weakly. He ran his hand through his hair, sighing out of frustration. Not saying anything, he helped me into my coat. Grabbing my hand, we went back out to now deserted waiting room and sat in two of the empty chairs. The room was so quiet compared to the chaotic amount of noise earlier; it was relaxing. Yawning again, I placed my head on his shoulder and trying to still battle against the sleep threatening me. The next thing I remembered, I was in Edward's arms in the back of a car.

"She's an amazing person, Alice." he said softly.

"She looks just like a fallen angel." the tinkering soprano replied.

"But she's so beautiful..." was the faint trailing response from him. I felt the car accelerate slightly and heard very faintly as I drifted off to sleep, the lyrics of the song playing on the radio: _now she wants to fall in love again, don't you know that he is satisfied to own her? You know he couldn't see that she could be his everything, bringing life to everything now. Whoa, she just wants to fall in love again…she's broken like an angel._

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review please?! thanks darlings.


	7. Skinny, Mean Man

mmkayy, new chapter. thanks to vampirelover13, xoKellyAnneexo, pushypixieAlice (), xrosecullenx, life4theKing, forevacullens, MirandaCullen223, and A is for Angel for reviewing, i appreciate it. So long time for the new chapter i know, it sucks to wait, but water polo season has started so i have no life once again. I promise i do type up everything as soon as i get free moments, (I even ditched class to get part of this typed). btw, the beginning of this is a dream. without further ado.

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Chapter Song: Skinny, Mean Man

Artist: Say Anything

Chapter Seven

She was gliding across a highly polished dance in a top of the line ballroom. Around her, other masked couples whirled gracefully across the floor. Crystal chandeliers sparkled high above the floor, reflecting spectrums of color around the room. Through the windows, you could see the night sky, black velvet illuminated by thousands of brilliant diamonds. In time with the music, she was softly spun around once in uniform with the other women that were dancing with their partners.

She returned to her partner, looking up to examine his mask. It was a simple satin black mask, starting at his eyebrows to stop and rest atop his cheekbones. She couldn't see anything but her dance partner and his green hypnotic eyes. He leaned down, his lips lightly brushing across her temple. He returned to his former position, his eyes momentarily flashing from black back to green. He started leading her through the crowd of dancers toward the edge of the dance floor. Once at the edge, he once again twirled her in sync.

He had led her toward a wall of full length mirrors. While he was spinning her, she caught a quick glimpse of her reflection; she was wearing beautiful champagne colored lace floor length dress with a white Venetian mask. The mask covered her face entirely, only holes for eyes. It was made from the finest white porcelain, bedecked with beautiful gold and silver beading. The song ended and the no longer dancing crowd started to clap. Her partner smiled at her and led her closer toward the mirror. He removed her mask, revealing her.

Covering her face were bruises and cuts of varying degrees. Her left eye was swollen shut while the right eye's surrounding area was black with bruising. Running from her left eyebrow, diagonally across her nose, and into the middle of her right cheek was a deep cut. Both of her ruby lips were swollen; the bottom lip cut and trickling blood, the color a perfect match to her lipstick. She turned toward her partner who had unmasked: it was James.

"Look at yourself, Bella, you're beautiful," he said, his black eyes gleaming as he cackled with laughter.

***

I woke up screaming, my bed sheets twisted around my legs like ropes holding me down. I was breathing hard, barely realizing that I was taking in any air; I felt like I was suffocating. I pushed my hair out of my face, and leaned back into my pillows. My heart was hammering in my chest and I was drenched in sweat. _It was only a dream, it was only a dream,_ my mind repeated to me like a mantra. I rolled onto my side and turned on the bedside light, illuminating the room with a soft glow.

Lying there, I let my mind wander over what it had just produced. It wasn't the first time that I had dreamt of this, it had happened once or twice before several, but there was on major difference. The stranger never had green eyes until now. Mulling over this, I didn't realize how terrible I felt. My head was pounding with the most horrific head ache imaginable and my stomach started churning in the worst of ways. Quickly realizing what was about to happen, I ran out of the bedroom and into the living room, stumbling over something in the darkness. I made it into the bathroom just in time to release the contents of my stomach.

Getting off the floor, I turned on the sink and rinsed my mouth out with some cold water. I had the bitter taste and burning sensation in my mouth and throat that accompanies vomiting. My head felt slightly less pressure, but this alone was not enough to make me feel better. Exiting the bathroom, I looked around for my coat to get my cell phone out of its pocket. It was draped across the entryway table, my bag sitting right next to it. Feeling my stomach start to churn again, I grabbed the phone and sprinted into the bathroom, again barely making it in time.

Once recovered from the latest attack from my stomach, I flipped open the phone to see several missed calls from Edward and Angela. I scrolled through the contacts until I found Edward's number and punched the send button. Pressing my face against the cool white tiles of the bathroom walls, I waited patiently as the phone rang three times, being picked up in the middle of the fourth ring.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice asked from the other end of the line.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice rough and hoarse.

"Bella? Is that you? What's wrong?" he asked, sounding alert even though he was half asleep still.

"Nothing is wrong, it's fine. I just have a question for you. Do you remember what the name of the pain pill that the hospital prescribed me?"

I heard him yawn and clear his throat. "Um, the prescription they gave you was for Vicodin…why?"

"How many did I take?"

"You took two before leaving the hospital Friday….I don't know after that, I didn't see you yesterday."

Yesterday? I groaned. The two brief moments of consciousness I had came back to me with sudden clarity; I remember Angela being here, she woke me up. She was saying something, but I couldn't remember and then the second memory came back. I had taken four pills early that morning, after that, everything went blank. I had confused the Vicodin with aspirin and hadn't been up for almost a day.

"Because, it makes me sick," I replied in honesty. Inside my head, I was screaming at myself for my stupidity.

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"No! Don't come!"

A click was all I heard from the other end of the line before I dropped the phone and emptied my stomach again. I stayed in the bathroom, continuing to rid myself of the drug at my stomach's will until I heard a faint knock at the door. On shaky legs, I pulled myself up and walked to the door to let Edward in. Barely getting the door closed, another purge started to make itself known as I ran back into the bathroom.

Edward followed behind me, holding my hair away from my face. He sat down behind me, rubbing my back comfortingly when I wasn't expelling vile liquids. Occasionally, he handed me a washcloth I could wipe my face down with. When I started to shiver from the coldness of the bathroom floor, he gave me his sweatshirt. I gladly put it on, pushing the long sleeves up my arms, not being able to do anything else about the large amount of fabric that now covered my small frame. Eventually, the nausea faded and my stomach no longer felt sick. I still had a terrible headache and the stabbing pain in my ribs was slowly starting to come back now that the pain killer was starting to wear off.

He helped me off the floor and left the bathroom. Turning on the sink, I washed my face and brushed my teeth, trying to rid myself to the sick feeling. After rinsing the toothpaste out of my mouth and into the sink, I straightened up to look at myself in mirror. I had dark circles under my eyes and I looked paler than ever. The bruises on my face that looked like they were starting to heal stood out garishly against my skin. Looking down so I didn't torment myself anymore than I was by looking in the mirror, I noticed something else: I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday, ignoring shoes and Edward's hoodie.

Padding back into my bedroom, I grabbed another outfit of sweatpants and a tank top and headed back into the bathroom to take a shower. While waiting for the water to heat up, I stripped off my dirty clothing and cautiously removed the previous days taping for my ribs. Stepping under the hot spray of the shower I felt myself start to relax. The sound of the water was relaxing as I went through my regime of cleaning my hair and body. When my hair was squeaking as I ran my hands through it, I turned off the shower and dried myself off.

I got dressed in everything but my tank top, carefully trying to avoid any unnecessary pain. Opening the mirrored medicine cabinet, I removed the tape and took four aspirin as I started to re-tape the area around the broken ribs. Once finished, I slipped my tank top and Edward's hoodie back on and tossed my dirty clothes and towel into my hamper before walking into the living room. Sitting in their proper positions were the end table, lamp, and books that I had carelessly not righted after waking up from my beating two days ago. The lamp was turned on, shedding a blinding amount of light compared to the darkness of the early morning.

I found Edward laying propped on one elbow staring out toward my small television. Even though the television was on, he was watching it through unseeing eyes. His eyes looked like they were far away from my tiny Seattle apartment, his pale brow wrinkled in thought. Underneath his emerald eyes were dark rings on coloring as if he hadn't slept much lately. Hearing a ringing noise broke him out of this trance as he dug through his pocket to pull out a silver phone.

Leaving to give him some privacy, I went pulled off one of the thick quilts on the bed, hearing a beeping noise behind me. Closing to bedroom door before reentering the main living space, I saw him place a few items on the coffee table. A bowl of soup, two fried eggs, several bottles of water, The Other Boleyn Girl, and a box of cereal were spread across the table. As I settled into the couch under my blanket, he handed me the bowl of soup and a spoon. Taking it from his hands, I set the bowl in my lap and started to eat taking small spoonfuls. Placing his hand over the receiver he whispered, "Sorry, it isn't much." before returning to his call.

_Why?_ I thought silently as I ate. _Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?_ And I could not come up with an answer. I heard his phone snap shut and the city streets below start to come to life even though the sun wasn't going to come up anytime soon. Setting the bowl onto the table, I curled myself into a ball. Neither of us had said a word to each other since our phone call a few hours before. Feeling the pressure shift, I looked toward Edward. He had pulled himself up to a sitting position and taken my hand, studying my face.

Without saying a word, gently pulling me back down to a laying position, my back resting against his chest, he wrapped the blanket around the both of us. From the TV, I heard the prologue of Romeo and Juliet start and I started to watch the movie; it was the 1990's version with Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo. As the prologue faded, I felt Edward's fingers start to play with my hair. I didn't tell him to stop, I didn't want him to. I loved the feeling of his fingers running through my hair. As the characters spoke their lines, I silently mouthed along with them.

In act one, scene five, the party at the Capulets' house where Romeo and Juliet first meet, Edward no longer played with my hair. Instead, his fingers moved to side of my neck, lazily tracing a pattern of circles and figure eights gently on my neck. I tensed slightly and stopped mouth the lines; he was tracing over a bruise that was undeniably in the shape of a hand. But my reaction didn't seem to register with him and if it did, he didn't voice anything. My mind started to wander back to the events two days ago, and before long, the movie was already halfway through act four.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck sending shivers down my spine.

"Who's Esme?" I blurted out unabashed.

"She is Carlisle's fiancée, why?"

"What happened to her?"

"She was in the same predicament as you…the man was her fiancée at the time. He had just started to intern at a hospital when she had come into the emergency room. She was on the run from him and she told Carlisle everything he had ever done to her….He quit his job at the hospital as soon as she was discharged that night and helped her get away. I've never seen a bond between two people so strong, so undeniable…they were made for each other. Never in my life have I met two people with so much compassion." he explained.

"I'd prefer not to be rescued…." I whispered, just faintly audible. Edward's hand stopped tracing its pattern and his breathing froze to a dead standstill.

"Why you are so adamant about letting this happen to you?" the anger his tone was almost tangible.

"Because…I'm finally numb; please…don't get me rescued." I tried to make up excuses, anything that sounded plausible to him. But as I said this, for once I felt_ guilty _telling this lie. What if I just told him what I had planned already, what would he do? On the screen, the young Juliet had just taken her life in the church next to Romeo, pledging her undying love for him before pulling the trigger.

"I'm pretty sure I don't believe in love." I said, standing up and taking my dirty bowl of half eaten soup into the kitchen. I left the blanket on the couch, the combination of his body heat and the quilt kept me plenty warm. Standing at the sink, I rinsed the remains left in the bowl down the drain and flicked a switch, running the garbage disposal momentarily. As I exited back into the hallway, I saw him leaning against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. I tried to pass by him, but he wouldn't let me through.

He was silent for a moment before quietly whispering, "You're wrong."

"Prove it." I said in an agitated tone, glaring up at him in defiance.

He pushed off the wall and walked toward me. As he came toward me, I started to back up, only to take a few steps to be stopped by the wall. Still, he walked toward me, his emerald eyes blazing with some emotion I couldn't detect. Standing in front of me, he placed a hand on underneath each jawbone, cupping my face.

"What do you feel?" he asked, his eyes not breaking contact with mine.

"Nothing."

Bringing his head close to mine, he gently pressed him lips to my temple once, then a second time on my cheek. I could feel the heat of his body close to mine and an urge to reach out and touch his smooth, pale face passed through my veins.

"Now?"

"Nothing." I repeated.

One of his hands moved down from my face, trailing down around my shoulder before lightly holding my upper arm. The path that his hand had just moved down was now burning with a heat that I had never felt before. Just as his hand had moved lower, his head was now slowly turning to the side and coming down toward my neck. My blood was pounding through my veins at an alarming rate and my breathing becoming shallower, but I couldn't slow it down, I didn't want to. His lips found the patch of skin that was just above my Carotid artery and kissed there. I could feel my pulse beating rapidly against his lips before he removed them. Once more, he placed a light kiss there, his hot breath causing my body to shudder as his touch sent shivers down my spine.

"Anything?" he asked his lips brushing across my neck as he spoke; he still hadn't removed them. Emotions that I couldn't name were wracking my body with their effects: my pounding pulse, my shallow breathing, the fire burning beneath my skin. And in the very bottom of the stomach, I felt a light, fluttering sensation. It almost felt like…

"Butterflies," I said gasped as his head came back to my level. I heard him whisper "thank you" a nanosecond before I felt Edward's lips come crashing down onto my own. His kisses were fast, urgent, and hungry like we didn't have much time. I felt his tongue lightly run across my bottom lip and quickly granted access to his trespass. Slowly calming down, our lips moved in a more leisured rhythm, as if we had the whole night before us. Our mouths moved together so perfectly, so passionately, it would have done a choreographer proud. Somewhere in the midst of this, my fingers, of their own accord, knotted themselves into his soft copper locks, as his did to mine. I could feel his fingers rubbing my strands between his fingers as if it were a fine silk he longed to purchase. My heart was fluttering, beating so fast it felt like it had stopped. This feeling, so sudden, so new, was unrelenting and I didn't want it to ever end. Finally breaking this moment that had been briefly suspended in time, I removed my hands from his hair turned my head away from his.

"We shouldn't be doing this, we can't do this." I said breathlessly. He detangled his hands from my hair and placed a hand either side of my head on the wall behind me.

"Why?" he questioned, his breathing just as heavy as mine.

"Because for one, we work together, so we shouldn't be mixing business with pleasure. Secondly, I barely know you and vice-versa. The third reason is because you're going to leave. And the last reason is because of James." As I said the last two, I heard and felt a shot of pain ripple through my body.

"Why do you let him be this thorn in your side? Just at the mere thought of him you wince. The thought of what he's done to you makes me sick. Why do you let own you like this?"

"Because he does own me," I said finally meeting his gaze. "You don't know what it's been like these past five years, you haven't even an inkling of what I've been through."

"Bella, what do you want?" his voice was quiet and close.

"I want this." I whispered.

"Then let yourself have it. Take revenge from this crime." He whispered, trying to kiss me, but only meeting my cheek as I turned my head away.

"But you're still going to leave….I can't get into this, Edward." I said ducking from under his arms and walking away from him. As I entered into my bedroom and closed the door behind me, I felt a ripping sensation fly through my chest.

_Why does this hurt so much? _I asked myself, tears burning the back of my eyes.

_Because you're in too deep already, _was the silent response from my conscious.

From the other side of the wall, I heard him mutter something under his breath before hearing a thudding noise. I heard movement, and then the noise of a door opening and closing. Falling onto the bed, I curled myself into his hoodie and under the covers, staring out the window and letting myself break down again into my sobs of confusion and want until I fell asleep.

***

The next day at work, I felt terrible. I hadn't slept well, and woke up late. I threw on a pair of khakis and a brown blouse, getting through the bare necessities of basic hygiene before leaving. By the time I had gotten into the meeting, it had been already been in progress for two hours. I was in extreme amounts of pain and couldn't concentrate very well.

Throughout the meeting, I could feel everyone's glares and glances. Fury from Mike, worry from Angela, frustration from Edward, and curiosity from everyone else. When we broke for lunch, Edward slowly left the conference room as Mike reamed me for being late and the embarrassment caused by it. I apologized repeatedly, until he let me go and I hid in my office with the lights off until it was time to go back so I could try and avoid any and all contact with Edward.

As I was standing up from my desk to return, I noticed a single white calla lily sitting in a vase of water on my desk, a folded sheet of paper with my name on it propped against it. It was written in the same script as the piece of paper that I had found in my coat pocket a few days prior; it was from Edward. I quickly tucked the note into my desk drawer to read later and went back into the conference room, working until we were released for the day, quickly leaving to avoid Edward again.

This pattern continued the entire time he was here: the flowers, notes, and avoidance, until the following Monday when Edward and his coworkers no longer came to Seattle Publishing House.

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ok, i know, WTF?! right? well, there is a reason to it dearies, i promise. review please? (they do make me write faster!)


	8. You Can Breathe

okay, it's the wee hours of the morning and i'm pretty sure the sun is going to come up in about an hour. So please excuse any typos/mistakes i have made, i'm running on nothing. i'll post the names of those who reviewed later when i have energy.

For those of you that care: originally, the chapter song was going to be Sober by Kelly Clarkson, but i was listening to Made For Each Other by Jack's Mannequin and as it faded into the You Can Breathe (for peple who don't know what i'm talking about, MFEO is an 8 minute song that combines two songs: pt.1-MFEO and pt. 2-You Can Breathe.) i realized that it was more appropriate for how the ending of this chapter plays out. so were going with You Can Breathe as the official chapter song even though it has 2 (sober & you can breathe).

***edits:** ok, now that it's morning and i have energy, i'm like to thank those of you that reviewed: Jelly Footed Frog, funkydiva1978, LydiaCullen13, A is for Angel, andritwilight, call me , forevacullens, and pushypixieAlice. i love the reviews, please keep them coming :)

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Chapter Song: Pt. 2 - You Can Breathe

Artist: Jack's Mannequin

Chapter Eight

**THREE MONTHS LATER**

"The tablecloths were supposed to be in crimson with the _fleur-de-leis_ pattern on them, not _poinsettias_." I heard Angela explain heatedly into the phone behind me. She had been on the phone with the various companies who services that we had hired for their mistakes in our orders and she was running thin on patience. She sighed out of frustration, running her fingers through her hair before thanking the person for their time and hanging up her phone.

"I hope this runs smoothly tonight," she said rubbing at her temples, "because if it doesn't, my head just might explode. I can not imagine anything else that could possibly go wrong." Since six thirty this morning, I had been running around the Spanish Ballroom of The Fairmont Olympic Hotel preparing for tonight's charity ball. Angela had joined me later, around noon.

I gave her a ghost smile and laughed halfheartedly, returning to back to my work of creating the flower arrangements. She walked over and joined me, handing me the next flowers I had to put into the assembly line of centerpieces I had lined up. So far, I had put in a multitude of roses, and other standard flowers in a creative way, no one center piece looking alike while all using the same flowers. I was finishing up the bunches of baby's breath when Angela started to hand me the white calla lilies. Seeing the flower, my mind flashed back to the first time I saw one of them sitting on my desk all those months ago in December…

_How long has it been?_ I asked the shell that was left of my conscious, unable to remember. There had been 24 white calla lilies in December along with a Marc Jacobs sweater, 31 blue irises, 28 lilacs and freesias tied together by a blue satin ribbon and a first edition printing of _Jane Eyre_, and 7 stargazer lilies….It was March 7th. He had sent ninety letters; ninety letters that had gone unread and were sitting in an ever-growing collection in a shoebox hidden in a closet, arranged by date, followed by the flower that had been sent with it. I had pressed the flowers so they would hold their colors when they had dried out.

"Three months…" I whispered quietly under my breath.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Angela asked sincerely. She had seen the change that I had gone through these past few months: the letters, the lack of bruising and injury, the silence. Never once did she ask what had happened between Edward and me those few days, or why I was no longer coming in looking like I had been through the ringer with a professional boxer. Angela was a smart girl, she had figured out that James hadn't show up for the past three months; ever since the day he had come into the office and created a scene.

"Tablecloths…are they going to bring us the correct tablecloths?" I asked to cover my mutterings.

"Yes, they said they were sending someone out immediately and they were sorry for the mix up."

"Oh, that's nice of them." I said awkwardly closing the topic. Ever since he had left those three months ago, I hadn't been the same. _Don't think of it now; think of it later, _my mind commanded me as it always did when I thought of him. I asked Angela to help me with the remaining flowers so we could finish them and move onto other details. We worked in silence, listening only to the hustle and bustle of the tables and chairs being set up behind us. We finished just as the worker started to bring in the correct table linens for our evening. She headed over toward him and started to help him assemble the table settings.

As she had began to discuss with him table settings, her phone started to ring. Not wanting to break up her explanation, I answered it in her place. It was only Mike wondering how things were going. I lied to him tell him that everything was peachy keen and he hadn't a thing to worry about. Happy to hear that everything was running smoothly, he then dropped the bomb on me.

"Bella, I need you to present the 'thank you' speech for SPH tonight." He explained that I would be the one to thank everyone for coming and what an honor it was to see everyone to support this cause, all that jazz. I was so choked with shock at getting this thrown at me last second that I couldn't tell him that I wasn't going to attend. After getting off the phone with him, I took a look at the time. It was Saturday March 7th, 2:43 P.M. Looking away from the time and up toward Angela who was now next to me, the problem that Mike had just created was now my main priority. I spied Jessica walking and sighed in relief. Jessica was a coworker that liked to think that she was everyone's friend. But in reality, she was just a busy bodied bimbo that thought all too highly of herself.

"I'm _so_ sorry to be late," She cooed to Angela and me, "I just lost track of time." Her voice was so sugar coated with fake sincerity, it sounded as if it would rot your brain if you listened too long.

"That's nice. I'm glad you're here though because you need to help the caterer, sculptors, and band set up. We have to run out and pick up a few more things." I lied to Jessica. Not waiting for a reply, I grabbed Angela by the hand and dragged her up the stairs and out into the hotel's lobby.

"I'm screwed!" I moaned it my hands, throwing myself into one of the lobby chairs.

"Bella, what's wrong?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Mike just told me that I have to come tonight because I have to make a speech. How I'm supposed to make a speech in less than three hours that doesn't sound half ass, I have no clue. I have no clue what I'm supposed to even wear tonight…I don't even have anything _to wear _tonight. I wasn't even supposed to come tonight! Why didn't he pick you? Why does this all have to happen to me?!" The more I explained the situation to her, to more upset I started to become, the faster I started to talking, and the shallower my breathing became.

"Shhh, Bella, it's going to be okay. I'll find you a dress. You're going to be just fine tonight, I promise." She said trying to calm me down from my rising panic attack. I took a few deep breaths before standing backup again.

"Here," Angela started pulling me down a hallway of the hotel, "let's get you dolled up." She winked as she pulled me into the hotel's spa. Angela explained to them our situation and lack of time, telling me that she'd be back as soon as possible. Throughout the entire time that I was at the spa, I didn't feel relaxed. The longer that I sat there, the more I thought back to the days since December.

Three months. Three months that I had pushed thoughts away that made me happy. Three months of being without abuse. Three months of collecting flowers, letters, and replies of silence. Three months of being able to breathe freely, yet still feeling like I couldn't breathe at the same time. Three months of knowing what I wanted but regretting the lost opportunity. Three months of showing up at work to come back to an empty apartment. Three months of waking up screaming from nightmares. Three months of still being about to remember every detail of every moment spent with Edward: every emotion, thought, feeling, and desire. Three months of being sober on an unending road. Slowly, I let myself relive snippets those memories. I didn't know how long I gave myself over to these thoughts, but it wasn't until I was spoken to that I snapped out of it.

"Please dear, don't cry. You'll ruin your beautiful makeup!" said the beautician, Shay, before handing me a tissue. She was an older woman, with graying hair, but was just overall a very maternal woman. I gave her a small smile and carefully wiped under my eyes at the few tears that had escaped. The rest of the visit, I didn't think about anything. They had just finished arranging my hair when Angela walked in with a white garment bag. She was already dressed and ready for the evening, her hair and make up completely finished.

"Oh Angela, you look wonderful!" I gushed when I saw her. She truly did look wonderful, almost like Audrey Hepburn in _Breakfast at Tiffany's. _She had her hair neatly arranged into a high bun with a little black dress and a single strand pearl necklace on. Blushing at the compliment, she handed me the garment bag and a room key, shooing me into the elevator so I could change. I entered the room, quickly removing my street clothes and taking my party attire out of their bags and boxes. In one bag held a small pair of navy blue lace panties, but no bra to match. Quickly changing into the dress without seeing it, I quickly fastened the silk ribbons that held the shoe to my foot before returning back to the hotel's lobby to meet her again; it was already past five-thirty and we had to get back, people would be arriving in about an hour.

"Angela, I wish you wouldn't have gotten me heels. You know I'm physically uncord…"

"Oh Bella! You're beautiful!" she exclaimed, cutting off my protest of her shoe choice and turning me into a mirror. Meeting my reflection, I heard all the air rush out of my lungs.

The dress was reminiscent of the 1930's and made out of a midnight blue silk. It was floor length and looked extremely delicate. Thin twisted straps came over the top my shoulders, exposing most of my back, reconnecting to the dress at the small of my back. Where the straps ended in the back of the dress, they met up with a complex area of fabric drapery. Around the waist there was a sash of fabric that wrapped around once before tying in a simple knot in front of my hips. Dotting the neckline of the dress, there were small circular cutouts in the fabric that allowed a tiny amount of my pale skin to poke through.

Shay had applied black eyeliner in both my upper and lower lash lines for some definition and a single coat of mascara. With a deep sapphire blue eye shadow, she applied it to my upper lids, starting heavy along the lashes and fading out into the palest blue from there. On my lips, she had applied a rich red lipstick. For my hair, she had done a variety of curls, pinning them into a beautiful arrangement behind my right ear. To finish off, she had added a single comb that was encrusted with several pearls to hold most of the curls. The look was perfect and the two of us were speechless at my transformation. I could hear people talking behind me, but they were just a hum of voices. I was still awestruck at who I saw in the mirror versus who I normally did. This didn't look like me at all. The bruises and marks that normally covered my body weren't there and I looked..._normal._ Thinking back to the dressing process, I realized that I couldn't wear my bra anyway due to how low the back of the gown came.

"Thank you," I whispered to Angela as we left.

"That's what friends are for." She whispered back, pulling me into a hug before entering back into the room that we would be in for most of the night.

Just as we had left for our own transformations, the ballroom had been transformed into a spectacular socialite event. Every table setting had been properly set, every centerpiece out, every napkin folded, and every sliver plate sparkling. The ice sculptures were perfectly illustrating the theme for the night: hide and seek. The work that had been poured into this project for the past few months had finally paid off and everything looked effortless. As my eyes roamed around the room checking every small detail, masked guests were arriving.

"You've really outdone yourself, Bella." Mike said from behind his mask. In the time that I had been admiring the room it had become highly populated, more of the night's 750 guests still filing in. I smiled, accepting his compliment and walked down the Spanish staircase and entered the ballroom, placing on my ivory lace mask for the night and started around the floor.

The chandeliers were bright and glistening, bathing the room in light and creating a warm atmosphere. Around the room, hors d'oeuvres and refreshments were being walked around the room by the wait staff, offering to everyone. I made my social circuit around the room, introducing myself, thanking them for supporting us, schmoozing for a few minutes before making my way over to the next group. Over the din of voices, you could hear the string band playing a soft, happy melody. Finishing my mingling session around the room, I graciously took a glass of wine off a nearby waiter's tray and headed into a small alcove.

The alcove was curtained around the entrance with two chairs and a small table inside, overlooking onto the garden. I didn't sit down, feeling too unstable and weary to stay stationary for too long. Moving close to the windows, I took off my mask and set it on the table along with my glass of white zinfandel and leaned my forehead against the cool glass. I closed my eyes, enjoying the coldness that was pouring through the windowpane. The evening had just begun and it already felt like it had been four hours. _Just a little bit longer, _I tried to coax myself, failing in the attempt. I kept standing there, hearing the laughter and noise of the party, wishing I wasn't there. After while, it felt like someone was standing behind me, watching me. I turned to find nobody in the room with me, just a waiter passing across the doorway with a tray of empty glasses. I sighed, laughing weakly at how pathetic I sounded to myself before placing my mask back on my face and taking a large sip of my wine.

Exiting the alcove, I plastered a fake smile on my face as I saw Mike standing nearby, talking with a group of people. He waved me over, introducing me to people I had already met. Nonetheless, I stood through his boring explanation of something or other, not listening to a word he said. I was utterly repulsed by him when his arm slid around my waist, every once in a while giving me a slight squeeze or pressing me against him. I was about to make an excuse to leave when I one of the women in the group caught me off guard.

"Bella, you look simply _divine!_" she gushed in her New York accent. "I hope you are in the dancer's auction, you would be _quite_ the heartbreaker to the men who don't win!" I was so shocked at her comment that I slightly choked on the sip of wine I had been taking.

"Oh yes, she is one of our favorites. Maybe I'll be the lucky guy who gets to dance with her." He said, emphasizing favorites and dance by squeezing me against him. I laughed, thanking them for their compliments before moving toward my designated seat; the waiters were bringing out the dinner salads and I desperately needed to escape from the horrendous situation I had just witnessed. I pushed my salad around my plate, not hungry at all. When the main course of seared scallops served with crisp potatoes, melted young leeks, and truffle bacon butter sauce was served, I picked at the food, no nervous to eat anything more than a few bites. Once every dish was cleared away and the desserts were being brought around, Mike stood, signaling that it was time.

Taking a last sip from my wine, I pushed my chair away form my table and followed behind him up the stage. As I started up the stairs to the small stage platform, I felt my ankle wobble in my heels, just barely regaining my balance by catching onto Mike's arm. I smiled, acting like I was lacing my arm through his as we continued up the stage, internally cursing Angela for the deathtraps that she called shoes. I released my arm from his, giving him a small smile as I continued to the podium. My throat felt dry and constricted and my hands were slightly shaking. I took a deep breath, smoothing my palms against my dress before starting into my speech.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Seattle Publishing House, I'd like to thank you all for coming out tonight." I paused for the applause that had started before continuing. My throat felt even drier than before and my heart was hammering. I couldn't remember the words that I had prepared in the short amount of time I had thought about it, so I improvised.

"As I look out, I see a plethora of masks, ones that we can hide behind like we did when we were young. As I stand before you tonight, I'd like to thank you all for coming to support our cause of children's literacy." I continued on explaining how the money we raised was used, thanking everyone once again before ushering in Mike. I stepped aside, applauding in the right areas but not listening to a word he said like most other people in the Spanish Ballroom were.

After repeating what I had just said, Mike asked for those who had volunteered to be auctioned as a dance partner to come up to the stage so we could begin the dancing portion of the evening. About thirty or forty people stood up, and made their way over to the stage, Angela being one of them. I was about to leave when he caught my arm not letting me leave the stage.

"Where are you running off to?" he joked with me.

"You know I can't dance, Mike..." I tried to protest as nicely as possible.

"There's no way out of this, you're dancing." He said cutting me off without further reason or explanation. He said it in such a harsh and commanding tone that I didn't question him and moved to the back of the crowd of people that had just appeared. I knew better than to question a man of power, bad things could happen.

Outlining the basic rules, he opened the auction starting with Jessica. She went for $9,250.00, smiling smugly as she left the stage. Angela was a few people after Jessica, being 'bought' at $4,500.00 by a fellow coworker whom she had a crush on, Ben. Exiting the stage she winked at me, and I gave her a small smile of encouragement back. She was glowing like she was 17 and going to the prom for the first time. The crowd of those to be auctioned was being thinned out slowly as people were sold and I was losing people to hide behind until it was finally me and Tanya. Tanya, a statuesque, strawberry blonde made a snide comment to me before she went up.

"It's a good thing you have that mask on, because I'm going to feel sorry for the poor bastard that gets _you._" I was so shocked at the malice in her voice and so appalled at her comment that I didn't know what to say. I just stood there, speechless. She went for $12,975.00, the highest bid of the night, after having men scream over each other making it sound like the stock market exchange. Before walking off stage, she gave me a vicious smile. I walked up, smiling as best and I could considering how miserable I felt. _Just a little bit longer, just a little bit longer,_ I repeated over and over again. Just a little bit longer until I could go home and cry myself to sleep, _just a little bit longer…_

"We'll start the bidding at five hundred, any takers for this beautiful woman at five hundred dollars."

Instantaneously, the uproar started. Men were screaming out numbers, Mike barely being able to keep up with the dollar amounts and the gentleman with the highest current bid of $8,950.00. Somehow over the cacophony, a voice was heard.

"$14,000.00"

I couldn't see who had said it with the amount of people that were standing around the stage. The masked faces didn't help me with trying to identify who had said it either. Momentarily, the bidding stopped, incredulous, shocked, and calculated reactions passing over paces before returning to the bidding again. Men dropped out, their checkbooks having insufficient funds or just gave up realizing the improbability of winning, a few still staying in the race.

The numbers started climbing slower now: $14,100…$14,200…$14,300…even more men left, leaving it to two from the sounds of the voices.

"$15,000.00" The voice injected the feeling ice water into my veins at its sound, my body shivered and my breath caught in my throat. _It can't be…_Adding to the hype of the moment, the band started a drum roll.

"$15,000.00, going once…" Mike started.

"$15,000.00, going twice…" the other bidder was silent.

"Sold for $15,000.00 to the gentleman in the black mask!" Mike cried out with enthusiasm. I heard my mouth fall open with a small _pop. _I had gone for $15,000.00…more than anyone else that night…I had raised the most money for the children's charity tonight. I left the stage in a daze, standing with the rest of those who had been auctioned. Angela gave me a tiny hug of congratulation before being claimed by Ben. I walked forward into the crowd of people, trying to find who I had been claimed by. Behind me, I could hear the countdown to unmask being started.

"Five…four…three…two…"

As the occupants of the Fairmont's Spanish Ballroom cried out the "one" I felt someone lightly tug on my hand from behind, signaling me to stop. Turning, I pulled off my mask with one hand as my partner did his. Looking into his face, my breath caught in my throat and my heart stopped beating.

"Edward...?" I whispered in disbelief, as the music started. Bowing in acknowledgement, he grabbed my right hand with his left, placing my opposite hand at his shoulder, beginning to slowly sway back and forth in a small circle. I moved close to him, my face close to his neck, breathing him in. I could not believe this was real. Faintly, I could hear his breathing in my ear slow and steady

"Hello, Bella." he whispered back. As the music continued, he started to hum along with the melody, switching to singing as the lyrics of Tommy Dorsey's 'I'll Be Seeing You' started to be sung by the band.

"_I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places,  
that this heart of mine embraces all day through._

_In that small cafe, the park across the way,  
the children's carousel, the chestnut trees, the wishing well._

I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day,  
in everything that's light and gay,  
I'll always think of you that way.  
I'll find you in the mornin' sun  
and when the night is new.  
I'll be looking at the moon,  
but I'll be seeing you."

His voice was beautiful and soothing, making my eyes tear up as he sang, his emotion pouring through wholeheartedly. I closed my eyes, feeling a tear fall from underneath my lashes and slide down my cheek.

As he softly serenaded me, my mind raced through every touch, every feeling, everything that reminded me of Edward. The sound of his laugh, the heat of his body next to mine, his fingers in my hair, the feeling of his lips moving against mine….The last words of the song faded out and the focus was now given back to the instruments to finish. Somewhere in my cotton picking, we had moved closer together, my hands around his neck, my cheek resting against his chest. His hands were around my waist, holding me tightly as if I he never wanted to let me go.

Turning his head ever so slightly, he gently kissed my temple before whispering, "You're beautiful" into my ear as the final notes were played. My throat constricted, and I couldn't breathe. I was choked with fear. We pulled away from each other as the other partners had, but instead of turning to applaud the singer, I picked up the hem of my dress and pushed through the crowd to get outside. I didn't bother to grab my coat; Angela would notice my absence and take it for me.

My vision was blurred by free flowing tears as I made my way toward the hotel entrance; they had a town car that could take me home. My heels were slowing me down as I headed away from the party. I was stranded in the lobby as I realized that it as pouring buckets. Behind me I heard the man at the check in desk say something about it being 15 minutes before the next car would be available. Changing my plans, I bent down to untie the ankle breaker heels I had on. Before I even reached bow of the ribbon, I heard his silken voice say my name.

Wanting to make a clean getaway, I turned and started to run as fast as I could, trying to get to the elevators; Angela had booked a room in the hotel for the night, I could hide there until he stopped following and then I could go back to my apartment. I pushed the button of the elevator, willing that by some miracle it might get here before he did. I stood facing the wall trying to hide my runny mascara eyes, my hands in fists above my head. I started to hit the wall with my fist repeatedly, unleashing my anger. I had hit it twice before Edward caught my fists is his hands and turned me around to face him.

"I can't do this." I told him through my tears, defeated. I couldn't meet his eyes for my mind was tormenting me enough by dredging up images of him in pain, pain that _I _had caused.

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't."

"You're wrong." Hearing these words, my mind flashed back to the day at my apartment. The moments before I walked away from him flashed through my mind: him telling me I was wrong and my defiance, his kisses, my butterflies, _our_ kisses, our mutual realization of what we wanted and my walking away from him….Just like he had that day in my apartment, he asked me that same terrifyingly desirable question.

"Bella, what do you want?" he had removed his hands from mine, placing one under my chin tilting my head to his level, forcing me to look at him while the other held my waist. The words surfacing to my lips were the same ones I had told him that day.

"I want you." I said truthfully, his eyes burning into mine with a mutual, sole emotion: love.

Just then, the elevator doors opened to an empty car. He pulled me inside, pressing the button to the twelfth floor before I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and drew him toward me. Edward was pressed flush against my body, so close not even air could pass between us. I needed him, he was my air. And without him, I couldn't breathe. Placing a hand on either side of my head, he dropped his face down toward me as mine came up to meet his.

Our eyes were locked together, both of us refusing to break contact. His lips were hovering just above mine: they were close enough that I could feel them, but just far enough that I would have to move to kiss them. Angling my face up just a little more as if to give him a signal, his lips brushed across mine, pressing down onto them ever so slightly. Pulling away, he leaned his forehead against mine, his lips hesitating, waiting.

I could feel the heat his face against mine, his breathing starting to quicken its pace. Slipping my hand beneath the jacket of his tuxedo, I pressed my hand against his heart. Its beat was strong against my small hand, racing with a fury that could match mine. Placing his hand over mine as if to hold my hand there, his lips came crashing down onto mine. Our mouths moved as one, perfectly molding to the others, movements all in sync.

The doors opened announcing our arrival to the twelfth floor and without breaking our lips apart from their sensual dance, he lifted me into his arms. My legs automatically wrapped themselves around his waist, latching myself onto his body as we moved down the hall. In the midst of my growing desire, my hands started feverishly searching for the room key in his jacket. Finding the small piece of plastic, I pressed it into his hand before twisting my fingers into his copper locks again. Stopping outside a set of double doors, he pushed my back against one, wrapping his arms around my thighs to support me. Breaking the contact of our lips, in a low guttural tone I heard him say my name as he pushed the door handle down, entering into the room.

His lips didn't leave me for long, tasting the skin down my neck and shoulders as we moved through the darkness of his hotel room. We passed through and archway into a living area and a set of curtain French doors before laying himself on the bed with me atop him.

As he started to softly nip at my neck, my hands moved from his hair and down his neck to his chest. I removed the jacket from his shoulders, which was shortly followed by his tie, shirt, and shoes. Undoing the button of his pants, he lifted his hips and removed his pants, leaving him in his black silk boxers. Moving myself up to a sitting position, I looked down admiring him. I could see his pulse surging fast and strong as his heart beat, his chest rising and falling as oxygen quickly passed through his lungs.

Pushing himself to a likewise position to mine, he removed the pearl comb. My hair tumbled down around my face, releasing my curls. With feather light touches, he brushed my hair away from my face before kissing the hallow beneath my ear.

"God, how I want you…" he rasped against my throat.

"I need you." I said quietly against his bare shoulder, placing a kiss there. Gently he rolled me onto by back, moving himself toward the edge of the bed.

"If anything I do upsets or frightens you must tell me…please." He pleaded with me.

"I will, I promise." I swore to him.

Lifting my legs one at a time, he unraveled the ribbon of the shoes and tossed them to the floor. Softly and slowly, he placed small kisses along my legs, working to the hem of my dress which had been pushed from its original floor length height to my upper thighs. I could feel my desire for him building, a warmth in my lower belly signifying me of it. His fingers hesitantly grabbed the edge of the fabric but didn't move it any further.

"Don't fight this," I spoke honestly, cupping his cheek. For once, our roles had changed. Edward had become the fighter and I the lover. He turned his head into my palm and placed a kiss there before reaching for the base of my gown. I arched my hips away from the mattress and raised my arms as he lifted it over my head. I heard his intake of breath as I was now fully exposed to him with the exception of my panties.

"Never in all my life have I seen anything so perfect, Bella. Never. I want this. Forgive me, but I want you." He said shakily, his expression burning pure fire. I couldn't deny him, for I wanted it too. We were long past the point of no return.

With deliberate slowness, his hands and mouth tenderly explored me, gently caressing my breasts. Dipping his head, he placed a kiss in the valley of skin on my collarbone before continuing a trail of kisses down my torso that was followed by his hand. The lower he went, the more shameless I became. I could hear myself moaning his name, too lost in the ecstasy of his touch to silence myself. He paused as he reached the border of my panties, carefully pressing the tips of his fingers below the waist line. I gasped.

My mind flew into a frenzy of frightening images, switching before I could make sense of what they were depicting or what they meant.

"Edward!" I whispered into the darkness. Tears were welling in my eyes as my body started to shudder in fear; I couldn't breathe. Hearing the fear tainting my voice, he instantly withdrew his hand and pulled me close to him.

"I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry, Bella…shhh…its all going to be okay…you can breathe now…everything is going to be okay…" he reassured me.

I curled into his chest, his chin resting above my head as he quieted my fears. Slowly, a few solitary tears escaped my eyes and ran down his chest as he held me. I sat in his arms, letting him rock me like a parent would a small child. As my fears quieted, I felt his slow and steady heartbeat lightly against my cheek. Quietly, Edward started humming, absentmindedly running his fingers through my hair. Looking out the windows, I watched the rain drops stream down the panes until my eyes grew too heavy to stay open. Listening to the soft melody of his voice, I fell asleep in the safety of his arms. For time in three months, I slept soundly through the night.

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mkay, please review, 'nuff said. i'm hitting the sack. later loves. 3


	9. Lying: The Most Fun A Girl Can Have

short and sweet: new chapter. couldn't fit the whole song title into the chapter title box so i improvised.

kudos to my reviewers: inu16kags, forevacullens, pushypixieAlice, isa90, vampirelover13, and Iceangel92003.

and extra kudos goes to riskyshapes because her review made me smile :)

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Chapter Song: Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

Artist: PANIC! at the Disco

Chapter Nine

How long I had been in the blackest and heaviest part of my REM cycle, I wasn't aware of. When my body finally decided to swim to the surface of consciousness, it hovered just underneath the surface. I felt a shift in the pressure of the bed and the disturbance of the sheets. Both were quickly ended, the sheets replaced to their former position of warmth. I rolled over onto my opposite side and swam back down a little bit deeper, hearing a soft laugh as I did. I wasn't ready to break the smooth surface and create turmoil on the surface by producing ripples and waking up. The further I tried to swim down, the closer I was pulled toward the surface by the sweet sounds of tinkering piano keys.

Some part of my subconscious told me to just continue swimming down, but my body was at war with itself. Breaking through the surface, I was greeted to the introductory notes of Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune." Listening to the familiar composition, I kept my eyes closed, burrowing further into the sheets as bits of memory from the previous night flooded back to me. _Waking up early and setting up the ballroom, Angela's arrival, many phone calls. Flowers, tablecloths, a dress, a speech…_

Edward.

The name came hurtling forward along with the complete memory, bringing me out of my snuggly little dreamland. My eyes flew open as if to check that I hadn't dreamt it. My eyes stung from the concentrated amount of light in the room. It was another cloudy and dismal day outside; even though the curtains were closed, I could hear the rain pounding itself along the widows. Spying the source of the light, my eyes adjusted to find the sight of my wakeup call.

The set of French doors that were aligned with the middle of the bed that separated the master bedroom from the living room were wide open, the light and sound filter into the room. Through those doors, sitting at the bench of a black baby grand piano, wearing only a pair of charcoal colored flannel pajama pants was Edward. His back was turned toward me. His hair was more unruly than ever, but it never looked so delicious before, sticking in every direction but flat. As his arms moved across the ivory keys, I could see the muscles of his back ripple encased in his delicate skin. Seeing his pale body revived my memory of how resplendent he looked in the pale light of the night. My body shivered with pleasure at the though as a genuine smile stretched my features into an expression of happiness.

Hearing the piano playing was relaxing, it reminded me of when I was young and Renee would play. I leaned back into the pillows, tucking the sheets into my underarms as I readjusted to a comfortable position. I sat there watching and listening to him play while my mind drifted.

How was it that I had been able to get myself into this situation with two totally different spectral answers? The answers were straight to the point: James or Edward.

_If only it were that simple,_ I thought to myself.

As Clair de Lune faded into its last notes, I looked away from his heavenly form to see a small pile of clothing neatly folded and sitting on the bottom corner of the bed. Atop the pile was a small piece of paper folded in half with my name written on it. Seeing the clothes made me suddenly self-conscious about my appearance.

My hair felt stiff and matted because of the hairspray used to hold my curls. From the feeling of uncleanness I received from my hair, I didn't want to imagine what my makeup looked like from the previous night. Deciding that I wanted to shower, I pushed the covers toward my feet to take the pile of his clothes. As quickly as I had moved the sheets away, I pulled them back up to cover myself. I felt my face and shoulders flush tomato red as I remember my clothing, or lack there of. Glancing through the doorway, I saw that he was too engrossed in his playing that he didn't notice I was awake. Realizing that he probably wouldn't look back anyway, I was still nervous of the possibility of him seeing me so scantily clad.

_Too late for modesty, _I thought in an offhand tone, remembering my brazenness from the previous night and the fact that he had already seen this much of me. Removing the bed sheet, I wrapped it around my body before taking the clothes and walking through the suite's huge closet to the bathroom.

The bathroom alone was the size of my apartment's living room and kitchen combined. Floor to ceiling, the entire room was covered in warm caramel colored marble, ivory veins of color running through. In the far right hand corner of the room, there was a huge whirlpool tub that was sunk into the floor. In the right corner closest to me, was the shower. It was made of glass and had a rain showerhead directly over the middle of the shower. On the left corner of the room closest to me were the water and linen closets. From the edge of the tub started a long counter with his and her sinks that sat atop the counter. Bending at a junction where two walls met, it continued out a little further to create vanity table with a small ivory stool tucked underneath. The counter continued until it reached the wall of the linen closet. Behind the vanity table was an ornate mirror, two small but bright wall sconces hanging on either side.

Opening the door to the linen closet, I pulled out two thick, chocolate brown towels. After turning on the shower, I placed my clothing and towels on the counter. Undressing, I stepped into the glass shower, heat surrounding me as I closed the door behind me. Even in the shower, I could still hear Edward's piano playing clearly. The song was unfamiliar to me, but even though it was a piano piece, it had an alternative sound to it. I listened to his playing until it stopped momentarily as I was washing my hair for the second time with shampoo. Hearing the notes of a new piece, I listened closely to the notes.

The song started off at a not too slow but not too fast pace. It sounded slightly complex and bittersweet, but the emotion was conveyed through in every note. The notes repeated in measures for about two minutes before changing. The sound slowly started to build and take on a lighter tone before sinking back down into the familiar measures. Once again, the notes started to build into a happier melody before changing again. Again it faded to the bittersweet, but the notes sounded as if they had a glimmer of hope in them. Again the notes started building, this time the notes sounded happier, almost relieved. Slowly, the notes faded out, a chord sounding every few seconds before the song completely ended.

Again there was a pause before he started into a new song. This time, the beat was strong and commanding. There was a slight angst portrayed in the notes. By now, I had finished cleaning myself and was sitting on the shower floor, just listening to him as the water washed over me. As the song came to an end, I turned off the water and left the shower. Using one for my body and one for my hair, I toweled myself off. Being thoroughly dry, I started to dress myself in the clothes that he had provided for me.

The pile consisted of a pair of gray sweatpants, a navy colored hoodie, a black wife beater, and a toothbrush.

_How appropriate that he'd give me a beater, _I though sadistically to myself as I dressed. Shaking my head with disgust for myself, I brushed my teeth and picked up my dirty towels. I dropped them into the hamper of dirty towels in the linen closet and walked into the living room. As I entered, saw him crouched down on his haunches next to the piano. He was placing a small black box into a worn leather messenger bag. He now was wearing a white t-shirt that lightly clung to his chest, hinting at the sinew that lay beneath it. Without turning around, he slid back onto the bench and started to play again. I curled up on the couch behind him and patiently listened.

He played well, his heart and soul pouring out as his fingers plunked out the notes. He closed his eyes while he played a smile always on his lips. His chest would swell and deflate as the music would crescendo or decrescendo. But, the best part would be when he struck the wrong chord or key. I would never have been able to tell it by listening, but the sound of his laughter gave it away. His laugh was beautiful, sounding like ringing bells. When ever he laughed, it made my heart beat a little bit faster and my arms ached to hold him. He looked to carefree when he played, so happy, so relaxed that I was mesmerized. I didn't say a word until I saw him open his eyes for the first time in what felt like hours.

"Please, don't stop playing."

"Good Morning," he said softly giving me a dazzling smile as he turned around. He looked slightly surprised to see me sitting there.

"Morning," I replied with a smile.

"I see you read my note," he said taking in my appearance. "Sorry, I didn't have anything smaller for you." He gave a small sheepish smile as he apologized, his right hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, no, they're perfect, really. Thank you."

"Come sit up here," he said as he moved over, gesturing to the open space next to him. I removed myself from my perch on the couch and sat down on the bench.

"What do you want to hear?"

I was quiet for a moment as I sifted through my brain for the name of a classical piece Renee used to love to play. I opened my mouth to tell him the name when my stomach let go a loud growl.

I felt my cheeks go scarlet and Edward laughed. I looked down at my hands and bit my lip as I hid behind my curtain of hair, embarrassed at myself. No sooner had he finished laughing did his stomach growl. I looked up and raised an eyebrow at him. Standing up from the bench, Edward walked out of the room momentarily to come back with a thin brown leather binder.

Handing me the binder he said, "Order anything your heart desires."

Instead of taking the binder from him, I turned to look at the clock on the nightstand in the bedroom. Its small phosphorescent numbers announced 3:28 post meridiem as the current time. Without looking at the contents the binder had to offer, I simply replied, "Cheerios."

I heard him mutter under his breath, "That was easy," before walking away to order. I could hear him in the entry way talking on the phone. Turning towards the piano keys, I started to play 'Chopsticks.' As I finished, he walked back into the room and sat back down at the bench.

"What would you like to hear?" he asked again.

"Anything."

He was still for a moment contemplating what play, his fingers hovering just above the glossy keys. He cleared his throat before setting down his fingers. Closing his eyes, he slowly started into the song. He started to play to play, 'I'll Be Seeing You' by Tommy Dorsey, the song we danced to the previous night. Once again, he sang it to me, his voice melodic and clear.

It was a fairly short piece, barely lasting over three minutes. When he ended, he cracked his knuckles in one loud _snap _before embarking into another ballad, one unbeknownst to me.

"_I don't want to set the world on fire,_

_I just want to start a flame in your heart._

_In my heart I have but one desire, _

_And that one is you,_

_No other will do._

_I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim,_

_I just want to be the one you love,_

_And with your admission that you feel the same,_

_I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of, believe me._

_I don't want to set the world on fire,_

_I just want to start a flame in your heart._"

The song continued into a short monologue before returning to singing.

"I don't want to set the world on fire, honey. I love you too much. I just want to start a great, big flame down in your heart. You see, way down inside of me, darling, I have only one desire…and that one desire is you. And I know nobody else ain't gonna do.

"_I've lost all ambition for worldly acclaim,_

_I just want to be the one you love,_

_And with your admission that you feel the same,_

_I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of, believe me._

_I don't want to set the world on fire,_

_I just want to start a flame in your heart._"

As I listened to the words I was being serenaded with, the piano wires wrapped a little tighter around my heart, slicing in a little bit deeper to add to my mounting emotional pain. Why didn't I just walk away when I had the chance? Why did I keep hurting myself, hurting Edward? And if it hurt this much, why did it feel so right to be here with him?

_It's just a song,_ my mind said, unconvincingly conciliatory.

Just as he finished, a knock sounded at the door signifying that room service had arrived. Wordlessly, he stopped playing and we both stood up. Before starting toward the door, he reached down and held onto my hand. With this gesture, I felt the wires wrap tighter and slip a bit deeper.

_You don't feel guilty, you're scared. Scared of what will happen when he leaves._

Opening the door disclosed a man dressing in a maroon hotel uniform shouldering a tray. Walking into the room, he set the tray onto the coffee table in the living room before departing.

I felt depressed standing there in the foyer with Edward holding my hand…the dreamland that started last night was coming to an end, I could sense it. Pulling lightly on my hand, he guided us to where the tray had been set. For him, there was a plate of scrambled eggs and a slice of toast while I had a bowl filled with Cheerios, my milk sitting in a small pitcher. Releasing my hand from his grip, we both sat down on the couch and ate in silence. When we both had our hunger satiated, I was leaning against his side with his arms around me in a never ending hug when I remembered the title that Renee would play.

"Do you know 'Moonlight Sonata'?" I asked, pulling away from him to look at his face.

He nodded once before standing up and digging around in his bag to pull out a folder of sheet music. Sitting down at the piano again, he began the bittersweet and haunting melody. I let the familiar sense of calm the composition brought to me wash over me, trying to push away the feelings of guilt and hurt. Near the end, I reopened my eyes to find him watching me, his eyes hard, his expression emoting nothing.

He opened his mouth as if he was about to ask me something but was cut off by the shrill sound of a ringing phone. He ran his hands through his hair, his posture oozing frustration as he stalked out of the room to answer the call. When he was out of the room I made my way back to the piano and looked over the sheet music trying to remember how to play from my few poorly taught lessons on the instrument. I could read the music sheet fine, but my problem laid in my memory on the chords. I started into it, my fingers clumsy and forgetful stumbling every few measures. I removed his sweatshirt; the long sleeves kept sliding into the way of my fingers. Once I realized my mistakes, I started to play smoother, my brain shaking off the cobwebs. I could play smoothly until I reached this one cord, messing it up every time.

Suddenly, there were hands atop mine showing me the chord, "Like this," his mouth whispered against my ear. Edward was leaning over me, his arms covering mine, my small body comfortably fitting into the space on his chest between his shoulders. His face was next to mine, his warm breath sending shivers down my neck. My vitals went into over drive at the contact, my heart skipping beats. I felt all the blood wash into my cheeks turning them fire engine red.

"You look so beautiful when you blush," he said softly through his laughter for catching me off guard. He sat down next to me on the bench and continued to help as I played. After assisting me, I was able to get through the piece most of the piece without him. When I had finally played the piece through without help and was striking the final notes, he bent his head down and placed a small kiss on my shoulder.

My fingers faltered and the notes came out sour. I abruptly pulled my hands away from the keys and turned my head toward his. Meeting his eyes, I felt the piano wires snap my heart in half as they finally reached its breaking point. His eyes were a brilliant and fiery green, filled with thousands of emotions: hunger, pain, joy, tenderness, frustration….

"When did he leave?" he asked apropos of nothing. His eyes visibly changed from light and clear to cold and dark in a matter of a few short seconds. His voice sounded dead and flat.

I didn't know what to say or how to tell him. Sure, I was, by technicality, free. But with James in this picture, it was temporary.

Free in quotation.

'Free.'

I didn't want to have this conversation, not with him. Standing up from the bench, I moved back into the bedroom and flopped onto the bed before taking refuge under the covers. I heard him sigh from the other room. I didn't hear him enter the room until the sound of closing doors reached my ear and felt him climb onto the bed next to me. I didn't move. I just stayed balled under the covers hiding. I was waiting for him to break the silence as he wanted me to. Neither of us moved for a few minutes, but it felt like hours.

"Bella, please, don't hide your beautiful face," he finally said, his voice filled with anguish barely above a whisper. He peeled the blankets down from over my head to just past my shoulders before lightly brushing some stray locks of hair away from my face. I didn't answer him or even throw a glance in Edward's direction. I just stared at the panes of glass in the doors. Once again, silence descended upon us.

"Please tell me, I need to know this," he pleaded.

Silence.

"Why do you need to know?" I finally answered after a long time.

"I want to help you."

"I plead the Fifth." I said, my voice soaked with sarcasm at his statement. He looked incredulous. I rolled onto my side facing away from him, my eyes mimicking the motion.

"_What?_"

"You're a lawyer; you should know what that means." He exhaled angrily. I could picture him running his hands through his hair in frustration at the sound.

"Why do you always run?"

His voice sounded like he was confused and frustrated at the same time. With that, he finally broke through my defenses and hit me where it hurt. I could not hurt him in spite of the fact that he had brought up James. Edward had never done anything to deserve my anger.

"Don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Pretend that you just want to know about me."

"That's just it! I don't want to _just _know about you, I want to know _everything _about you! Your name is Isabella Marie Swan, preferably called Bella. Your birthday is September thirteenth, and you love books as much as a heroin addict does a fix. You're stubborn and self sacrificing and have more accidents in a single year than most people do in a lifetime. You brush your hair into your face when you feel shy or exposed. You don't have a favorite color; you believe horror movies are ridiculously funny due to poorly executed fake gore and acting. You drive a 1953 Chevy pickup because it was your first car and think it runs great. You hate receiving compliments because you view them as lies. You talk with your hands without consciously realizing you do. If someone you love hurts, it hurts you worse knowing they are in pain. You are the world's worst liar and love your parents no matter how harebrained they are. You talk in your sleep and hate shopping. Knowing this about you is nowhere near enough to satiate the thirst of my curiosity about you; I just want to break you down so badly and understand you." he said trying to make me believe. I couldn't think of anything to say so I relapsed again into saying nothing.

"Don't do this." I asked him again when I finally found my voice. It was thick with regret for what I said to him.

Several times he opened his mouth to say something, but the words always died before they reached his lips. When the words finally spilled out, I could hear every ounce of emotion that he had ever held back leaked through his voice.

"Bella, what if there was an us?"

"_What?!_" I said in utter disbelief.

"What if you and I…what if you and I were together?"

"That's not possible," I answered, my voice low. I could feel the tears start to build in my eyes. I would not let myself cry again in front of Edward, he had already seen too many of my tears.

"No."

"It could never happen," I reiterated, my voice thick with pain.

"Why not?"

"You know why! Because I'm a possession to him, a prisoner." I lied, indigently as I sat up. It wasn't the truth, he could see that.

"If you're a prisoner, how are you here alone with me?" he challenged me with a smirk. I could tell that brought him some satisfaction at having found the loophole in my speech, but I could still see the blackness of his mood.

"You have this illusion of smoke and mirrors around you that James will never come back but there is always that chance. Trust me, we could never have that."

My persuasion was a spiraling toward the ground, about to crash and burn. A dead look came into his eyes as I said this to him.

"So you mean to tell me that last night held nothing for you?"

His voice was flat and monotone and I was choked into silence with appall. How could I have done this to him? I had just fucked him over with words.

"Bella, I feel like everything is two steps forward to revert all the way back to square one. We both know what he did, there is not any way I can change that and it kills me. But what kills me in the worst way is when you push yourself away from me after saying you want this. You don't know what it was like for me to have to leave you there….Every single day I'd have to wake up knowing that he could be there hurting you. Every day I'd go to work or court and listen to battery, rape, and assault cases and hear the stories of the victims, each time picturing you, wondering if that had ever happened to you. By the time the day was over, I would get home and spend my nights in solitary confinement with a bottle of alcohol, drinking until I blacked out, just to get away from the thoughts that I couldn't do anything. It tormented me constantly to think of what could have been happening to you, the misery you were in.

"At the end of the first month, I felt like my life was burning in a black flame. The worst part knowing that I could have tried harder to convince you to get out of there. You're with me all the time. No matter where I go or how hard I try, you haunt my mind. He can't hurt you anymore, please trust in me when I say that. I just need to know where I stand."

I did not know how to tell him everything. In the three months I had alone, I had had an epiphany but I didn't want to register the fact. I had to tell him as best I could, he needed to know now. The time had already come and passed when I took a deep breath before dropping out into the unknown. I was ready for this, I had no doubt in my mind about it after last night. But what was I going to do when he was gone?

"I'm scared," I admitted my voice breaking. My guards were down for him to see everything, to see that I needed to explain myself to him.

"What are you afraid of?" he questioned softly, his voice filled with confusion and pain.

"There's a lot that I don't know, Edward—there's a lot that I'm still learning. I had finally started to let go of everything entirely when I saw you last night. But I was still hurting from what I had done to you—it made me want a resolution. I needed somebody to pick me up, somebody to help me rehabilitate what I had lost, but I was scared of letting anyone in. When you were here, I was scared of everything that was happening but I was complacent. When that moment was over, I froze. There was nothing to scare me, nothing to save me from slipping back into that coma. But the bizarre part was I could still hear the sound of your voice ringing in my ears telling me I was wrong. Then last night happened, resurrecting everything that I had done, everything I wanted. All I want is you, but I'm scared of what will happen when you leave."

This time, he was the one who was silent. His eyes fell closed and with the exception of his chest rising and falling, he was deathly still. He sat Indian style, his forearms resting on the tops of his knees. The silence was deafening in my ears and I wanted nothing more than for him to say anything, hurtful or not. A minute passed, turning into two minutes. Two minutes when to five and five soon became ten. After twenty minutes of silence, I could not take it anymore.

Switching to a kneeling position, I outstretched my fingers, tentatively brushing them across his knuckles whispering his name.

"Edward?"

At this he finally responded, opening his eyes slowly. They were cloudy and dark.

"Come here." He spoke softly, extending his arms out toward me. Without hesitating, I climbed into his waiting reach and molded myself into him. His chin rested atop my head and his arms wrapped around me tightly. One hand was tangled in my hair while the other was curled around my thigh. I pressed my left hand against his heart to feel its strong beat and took a fistful of his t-shirt of in my right. Turning my face toward his, I breathed in his scent. His scent was unique, nothing that I could place but was seemingly familiar. He smelled clean, like soap, warm skin, and rain. Sitting there, I could feel him twisting strands of my hair between his fingers as he began speaking again.

"I don't want you to be scared."

"But I'm not just scared, I'm happy, too," I said reaching out to touch his cheek. Turning his head, he pressed a kiss into my palm before ducking his head down to my level.

"How close is close enough?" His eyes were tight.

"I don't know–I just know that I'm ready."

"Is this too close?"

His lips brushed across mine.

"No, not close enough."

The sparks of electricity traveled down my spine and spread warmth through my body, my heart beating faster and faster.

"I won't ask of anything more," he said as he started to pull his lips away from me.

"Don't. I'll tell you when it is too close," I said twining my hands in his hair and pulling his face back to mine. My lips had barely touched his before he pushed me away from him.

"No," he murmured silkily.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't want you to feel pressured."

"I don't feel pressured!" I cried exasperatedly.

"You just decided that this is okay, that you were ready. I don't want you to rush into anything because you feel like you have to."

My eyes felt too moist as they stared down into my lap, my stomach uneasy, and my cheeks red with blush. It took me a moment to realize that I was irrationally feeling rejected.

"Please? I'll tell you if it's too close, I promise I will. Please."

He exhaled unevenly to my surprise before turning his head away from me. My heart was sputter frantically in my chest at his torn expression.

"Please?" I asked a final time.

"Bella—" He said turning his head toward me; it didn't sound like denial but surrender. Taking advantage of the moment, I reached until my lips touched his. I felt his hands come to the sides of my face, expecting him to pull away again but I was wrong. His hands braided into my hair welding my face to his. His lips moved against mine with a new edge of desperation, one that I hadn't felt since the first time we kissed in my apartment. Breaking away from my lips, he slowly started to create a line of kisses from the hollow beneath my ear to the length of my jaw line before slowly trailing down the side my throat.

His hands brushed lightly down my spine before coming to rest on my hips, holding me in an unbreakable grip. I wanted him to hold me tighter. Tickling me, I felt his thumbs lightly brush against the skin of my lower back; the tank top he loaned to me had ridden up. Disentangling my hands from his hair, they quickly found the hemline of his cotton t-shirt before hiking it up to reveal most of his perfectly sculpted abdominal muscles. He arched his shoulders off the bed so I could pull the shirt off his body entirely. Pulling his lips back to my own, I realized that he was flat against the bed with me straddling him. His kisses became hesitant now as my hands traced movement of his muscles; I felt him shiver beneath me as his body broke out in goose bumps. His skin felt like it was on fire. I felt him smile against my lips before his hands locked around my wrists like iron fetters, stopping them as they traced down his chest.

"Not tonight," his said against my ear, his voice was warm and velvety. His lips were slower now against my cheek and jaw. All the urgency from before evaporated. Unlocking my wrists from his strong grip, he wrapped one of his arms around me and I placed my hands limply on his chest. Once again, my right hand had found its way above his heart. He laced the fingers of his left hand over the top of my right hand; this way my palm could still feel constant beating of his heart. As both our breathing slowed, I turned my face into his chest to hide it before he could see my hesitation and embarrassment.

"Edward?"

"Hm?"

"There's something I want to ask you," I said. I felt blood flood to my cheeks without even looking at him.

"You're blushing?" he asked sounding surprised as he felt the heat of my cheeks against his smooth, pale skin.

I bit my lip, reconsidering if I should ask him.

"Bella." His tone reproached me now, reminding me not to draw back into myself after I relapsed into silence.

"Will you swear that you won't leave?" I finally mumbled in a barely audible tone.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here as long as you need me," he promised before placing a soft and gentle kiss on my lips. We laid there listening to the rain fall and watching the sky get darker and darker, not speaking, just laying there when I finally gave him his answer.

"81 days."

"Thank you."

* * *

as always, i'm a sucker for happy ending chapter because i hate leaving you guys with huge cliff hangers.

READ&&REVIEW PLEASE!

peace out girl scouts.


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